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Laura Thieme

Bizresearch President – 10 years - 2007

Fisher College of Business Lecturer on Search Marketing

OSU Russian Studies Grad – 1993

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18th December 2007

Elephant Island, Point Wild, Chinstrap Penguins, B-15 Iceberg, Drake Lake

It’s Tuesday morning and we’re getting ready to hear Jim McClintock give one of his last lectures on the Antarctica cruise. We’re all nicely relieved as we’re experiencing the calmer side of Drake Passage, which is commonly referred to as Drake Lake (gentle swells). We were dreading the return through the Drake Passage, as we experienced Drake Shake (up to 35 feet waves) on the way down to Antarctica. Yesterday I did not feel as inclined to write as it was our last day of icebergs and Zodiac excursions. I wanted to savor the day in its entirety.

First we saw the B-15 iceberg, which I wrote about a year ago. I had no idea I would get to experience the B-15 iceberg, which was repeatedly and erroneously referred to as T-15. The B-15 iceberg broke out from McMurdo Sound in Eastern Antarctica in 2000, causing a lot of havoc to the penguin colony in 2002 and 2003. It has currently settled in the Northwest Antarctica peninsula, close to the Drake
Passage. I’ll see if I can get a precise location, and its movement.


The famous B-15 Iceberg which broke off in 2000 from McMurdo Sound

I took both pictures and video of this 28 mile long iceberg, which is both artistic as well as inspiring. There are many icebergs that have broken off, making navigation tricky but well worth the photo opps.


Iceberg Afloat in Antarctica - Possible Break from B-15?

Jim’s Lecture Topic on Antarctic Diving

Wetsuits were the only diving options for early explorer Antarctic divers.  Early regulators stopped working mid-breath. Now you have drysuits, freeze-inhibited regulators, long underwear, a thinsulate suit, a drysuit which has air pumped into it, ankle weights which keep your feet down and waist
weight belts. There are tenders in the Zodiac boats to help you get in and out of your gear, making sure everything is intact. There is regulator redundancy in case one fails.

Divers look out for leopard seals, immediately getting out of the water just like a penguin does. There is actually a leopard seal recall device, which emits an underwater siren. Divers come up back-to-back so they can keep a watchful eye on the leopard seal. McMurdo Station, on the Ross Sea, is as close as you can get to the South Pole in an Antarctic dive. A drill will create a hole in as little as 15 minutes to check out marine invertebrates.  However, sometimes it’s necessary to get further out in the field. They take drills that look like augers, and blow 100 pounds of dynamite, however only 1% of the energy goes into the water. The rest blows into the air. Care is taken to ensure the safety of marine mammals in the area. It takes about 3 hours to clear out all the ice. Once they get past the claustrophobic eight or nine feet of ice, they can see an ocean of amazingly pristine clear underwater life.

Yesterday, after we saw B-15 as well as numerous break-off icebergs in various shades of light, we ventured into Elephant Island. For the third time in 17 years, our cruise was able to take Zodiac excursions in and around the icebergs, and within close reach of the chinstrap penguins up on the icebergs and rocks in the area. Typically weather prevents this type of excursion. We did not land, however, we went in and around the icebergs and rock jetties.

Penguin Rookery - Chinstrap Penguins in Elephant Island Antarctica
Chinstrap Penguin Rookery in Antarctica’s Elephant Island

Elephant Island is quite famous for Shackleton’s journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia. His team of a few men journeyed from Elephant Island in a 20-foot open boat, surviving the Drake Passage’s storms including a hurricane.  The other men left behind at Elephant Island survived four months (I believe) staying under two overturned boats in horrible conditions. They arrived in
April, which was just after many of the penguins had left. This is the beginning of the fall to winter season in Antarctica so you can only imagine the conditions.

I took a lot of pictures and shot a few video clips of the island, few of which I’m excited about as I really needed a higher powered zoom lens. I have a 300 meter lens, and probably could have benefited from a 500m lens. I took my tripod, but used that for the videocam and was thankful I had it with me. I
will be posting these when I get back to Argentina in the next few days.

Chinstrap Penguins in Elephant Island, Antarctica
Chinstrap Penguins Atop Ice Floe

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We saw our only Antarctic sunset as we were departing the area last night. We actually had some darkness last night, which was somewhat of a relief as Antarctica has 24 hours of light. You realize how much your body does need darkness to truly rest. Many of us mentioned this morning at breakfast that we finally slept last night, 8 days into the voyage. In fact, I am having a hard time staying awake right now. The gentle lull of the waves in the Drake Passage was making it harder to pay attention in our lecture.

After my rest

It’s an enjoyable two day journey back to Ushuaia, considering we’re experiencing Drake Lake. I have cruised with my parents on the Chesapeake Bay- and often they will refer to the Bay as “glass” - as if it is smooth as glass. Today, the ocean and the wind currents are treating us well - it is nearly as smooth as glass. It makes for very gentle cruising or sailing today. There is such a gentle swell, for which most would indicate that no Dramamine is required. I’m glad I chose not to take anything and am feeling absolutely no seasickness whatsoever.

Many talk about the desire as well as ability to reflect upon their journey to Antarctica on the return. I’ve only been on one other cruise, and that was to the Bahamas. I did not care for the Bahamas cruise whatsoever, however, if you’re into an intellectual crowd, who is well-read, well-studied,
introspective, opinionated, and accomplished - this is the cruise for you.  Numerous Brits and Australians and select Americans are on board. Antarctica’s cruise, on a smaller ship of 400 or so people (crew and passengers included), enables lively discussion about various matters in life. Conversations after dinner in the piano bar have been most enjoyable with my new British friends.

I’m quite interested in the aspect of the single female explorer here and wish to delve into that topic even further. What is it about a single female explorer who chooses to go to the ends of the earth, on her own? What is her profile? Is there a “profile”? What do we have in common? More to come on
this topic.

I’m signing off - and trying to capture two days in one. I’ll be in Ushuaia as early as tomorrow night due to the calm weather. However, I won’t be really online checking emails and such until the weekend. Let me know your thoughts on the blog - by writing me personally or by commenting here.

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