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Antarctica - Breaking The Last Frontier
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| Posted by Jerome Konen on 17/02/05 |
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| Leaving for Port Lockroy |
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| Photo by Jerome Konen |
| The Kotick fixed on the rocks near an iceberg in Port Lockroy. |
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16 February 2005 - Definitely the luck is not with us regarding the weather, still rainy and windy conditions. Nevertheless we decide to leave Melchior Islands for Port Lockroy about 40nm away, South of Anvers Island.
During that trip we cross Orcas before entering the Neumayer Channel. We arrive at Port Lockroy at about 5:00pm, taking us one more hour to fix the Kotick at the rocks near an iceberg in this natural harbour, occupied by a Gentoo Penguin population.
This small bay was formerly used by whalers. Luckily these times are all over now, at least in Antarctica.
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 05 March 2005 - We left Melchior Islands the 2nd of March at about 5:00pm. Once we have been outside the sheltered islands, the rough wind dictated the rules. A breaching Humpback Whale in the ... |
| Last day before leaving Antarctica (02/03/05) |
 01 March 2005 - The last stop at Melchior Islands was one of these rainy days again, remembering the arrival conditions at the same place. I still can't believe Antarctica is considered as the driest ... |
| Heading back for Melchior Islands (01/03/05) |
 28 February 2005 - Shortly after leaving the unhabitated station Almirante Brown in the morning, we had a look at the nearby Chilean station González Videla, deserted as well by humans but populated entirely by ... |
| Close to Paradise (28/02/05) |
 27 February 2005 - In the morning we left Pléneau Island. Right after the bay, the Kotick had to find his way through the ice covered sea, populated sporadically by Crabeater Seals. They have been ... |
| Foggy day (27/02/05) |
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This was the last day here ... |
| Creative underwater footage (26/02/05) |
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| Antarctic Landscapes (25/02/05) |
 24 February 2005 - Unfortunately days like today were exceptional during this expedition - the more we appreciate every sunshine and good weather conditions.
Expecially here in Antarctica the weather is everything but stable, winds can ... |
| Leopard Seal attacks (24/02/05) |
 23 February 2005 - 4:00pm, a Leopard Seal appears on the water surface around the boat. This one seams to show some interest in our presence. Quickly we slip into our drysuits and we get ... |
| Arriving at Pléneau Island (23/02/05) |
 22 February 2005 - The strong morning wind forced us to leave Port Charcot. For the first time we saw a countless number of icebergs floating in the sea, shining in different shades of blue. ... |
| Frustrating winds (22/02/05) |
 21 February 2005 - A bit frustrated I'm sitting here in my bed writing these words. Antarctic winds have again smashed an evening, this time on the 'Tara'.
The evening has started quite promising with a ... |
| Arriving in Port Charcot (21/02/05) |
 20 February 2005 - Port Charcot is named after the french explorer Jean-Baptiste Charcot who did two explorations in Antarctica, the first voyage with the ship 'Le Français' (1903-1905) and the second voyage with the ... |
| Stuck at Port Lockroy (20/02/05) |
 19 February 2005 - The weather this morning didn't allowed us to leave - too much wind and snow again. So the days can be long, very long even in Antarctica and this not necessarily ... |
| Penguin Land (19/02/05) |
 18 February 2005 - The usual weather in the morning today, snow falling and bitterly cold. Well, I know, we are in Antarctica and the winter is right close here now.
The Gentoo Penguins colonies here ... |
| From Hell to Heaven (18/02/05) |
 17 February 2005 - At 1:30am a violent storm in Port Lockroy came up and kicked us out of the bed immediately. The iceberg we were anchoring close, was hitting the Kotick at the stern, ... |
| Catched by Leopard Seals (16/02/05) |
 15 February 2005 - We are still caught in a bay at Melchior Islands. No way to go further, too much wind, rain and snow in the surrounding channels. Despite the fact of bad weather ... |
| First day in Antarctica (15/02/05) |
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| Arriving in Antarctica (14/02/05) |
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At 8:30, suddenly a loud ... |
| The Storm (13/02/05) |
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| The revenge of Drake (part 2) (12/02/05) |
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| The revenge of Drake (11/02/05) |
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The mood ... |
| Bye bye Ushuaia (10/02/05) |
 09 February 2005 - It's 2:30pm, we leave the harbour of Ushuaia. The Kotick is heading for Isla Nueva, marking the end of the Beagle Channel while passing along Puerto Williams. Sunshine, flat sea and ... |
| Preparing to leave Ushuaia (09/02/05) |
 08 February 2005 - Excess baggage means getting into a sweat while loading the boat. Bag after bag handling and once everything is on deck, it simply starts over again. Where shall we put all ... |
| Enjoying the end of the world (08/02/05) |
 07 February 2005 - Arriving in Ushuaia the 7 February after a 30 hours trip from the moment we left the Hotel in Paris. The weather couldn't be better here at this place, so no ... |
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