Susan R. Eaton
February 15, 2010

Antarctica: Dispatch Number Two

Today is an auspicious day for the Elysium Visual Epic Expedition – Sir
Ernest Shackleton was born on this day, in 1874, in County Kildare,
Ireland. We sang “Happy Birthday” to Shackleton, and toasted him with
Irish whiskey.

We were greeted by humpback whales as we arrived in the Melchior
Islands, located in Dallman Bay on the west coast of the Antarctica
Peninsula. The panorama at dawn was simply stunning: craggy volcanic
mountains covered by crevasse-dissected glaciers reaching into the
ocean. Low-hanging cloud cover further obscured the mountains.
Some of the Explorers disembarked the Professor Molchanov for a
‘topsides’ sightseeing excursion — the remainder wriggled into their
Antarctic-rated dry suits, intent on testing their dive and snorkelling
equipment in Antarctica’s harsh marine environment.

Decked out in our diving and snorkelling gear, Delta Group (my zodiac
group) completed an hour-long reconnaissance of the coastline, searching
for the perfect spot for our checkout dive. I tested out my new
Antarctic-rated dry suit, and was quite pleased with its performance.
While immersing my face in Antarctic waters gave me an initial shock,
the surface water temperature was 4C, two degrees warmer than the air
temperature. During our checkout dive and snorkel, we were greeted by
deafening sounds, as glaciers calved into the ocean. I determined, very
quickly, that wool toques, neck scarves and mitts are obligatory
‘topsides’ equipment when diving and snorkelling in Antarctica.

The wildlife was prolific in the Melchior Islands — bird life included
skuas, blue-eyed shags, arctic terns, cormorants, and chinstrap
penguins. We saw fur seals, Weddell seals, crabeater seals, and one
very large leopard seal lollygagging on floating ice. Most of the
Explorers are intent – yet understandably hesitant – on snorkelling with
leopard seals, Antarctica’s top predators who can weigh in at close to
2,000 pounds. In the food chain, the leopard seal is to Antarctica what
the polar bear is to the Canadian Arctic.

We marvel at the iridescent blues of the various icebergs, bergie bits
(smaller bergs), and growlers (smaller pieces of floating ice).
After a hurried luncheon, we pulled anchor and proceeded across the
Gerlache Straight to Danco Island, located in the southern part of the
Errere Channel. Elysium’s intrepid Explorers landed at Danco Island,
home to a large Gentoo penguin colony. Hiking up the hill single file,
we were able to observe adults on rocky terraces, arriving from the sea
to feed their chicks. Adults recognize chicks by their unique cries.
Predatory skuas patrolled the skies, looking to grab unprotected chicks.
The hike was well worth the effort: the view from above was spectacular,
looking down on the penguin colony and framed by the glacier-covered
mountains on both sides of the Errere Channel. Descending to the shore,
some team members took the “Shackleton Route,” sliding down the snowpack
on their rear ends.

In the meantime, the divers ventured into the ocean, encountering sea
stars, brittle stars, sea urchins and nudibranchs. Snorkelers swam with
leopard seals and Adelie penguins.