Susan R. Eaton
March 9, 2010
Dispatch from Calgary, Alberta

Antarctica: Dispatch Number Twelve

Before we disembarked the MV Professor Molchanov — our home base for 20 days — Captain Nikolay Parfenyuk told us that we had earned the title “Sea Wolves.” Jokingly, Captain Parfenyuk said he was pleased that “we had all survived” the seas. During our return voyage to South America, we endured three to four days of horrific weather which sent about 30 percent of the Explorers to their cabins with sea sickness. Passengers were confined below decks for several days, as crashing waves made it too dangerous to venture outside.

At its height, we were caught in a Force 11 Storm with 15-metre-high waves and 65-knot winds. To put this into perspective, on the Beaufort Scale created in 1806 by British hydrographer Sir Francis Beaufort, a Force 12 Storm is a hurricane…

Perhaps due to my Maritime roots –but more likely due to the fact that I didn’t enjoy being catapulted from side to side, in my upper bunk — I joined the small gang who waited out the ‘hurricane’ in the ship’s bar, a favourite gathering place. The ‘bar’ gang shared many laughs and a few bottles of Argentine Malbec, as computers, wine glasses, and literally every item that was not secured — including people — were hurled from side to side of the bar. On the last night of the voyage, with music blaring, we even managed to ‘dance up a storm,’ so to speak…

The MV Professor Molchanov had an “open bridge” policy, and, during the rough crossing, it boasted the best show onboard, as waves crashed against the bridge’s windows. I visited the ship’s bridge, day and night, sending my dispatches via the Iridium satellite system. At night, when the bridge was dark, save for the green glow of the navigational instruments, the tumultuous seas seemed to grow, mesmerizingly, in magnitude. Many of us periodically checked the ship’s navigational computers — capable of steaming at 11 knots, the MV Professor Molchanov’s progress was slowed to 2 to 3 knots in rough seas, pushing our ETA to Ushuaia further and further back.

Upon entering the Beagle Channel — a name of Darwinian origin — the MV Professor Molchanov took on a local pilot who guided the ship home to Ushuaia. Calmer seas prevailed in the Beagle Channel, enabling us to access and pack the scuba diving and snorkelling equipment which was stored in a heated container on the aft deck. When the dive container was opened, however, calamity ensued — the container had sustained damage during the rough crossing, and out spilled a melange of wet drysuits, rolling scuba tanks, and a whole lot of sea water. My new, custom-made dry suit — which had served me admirably in Antarctica and South Georgia — suffered lacerations, punctures and heat damage. Taking this set-back in stride, the intrepid Explorers got to work, drying out their equipment, and checking options for insurance coverage.

After a monumental five-day voyage from South Georgia, we arrived in Ushuaia, 12 hours behind schedule. To add insult to injury, the seas were so rough that the visiting pilot could not dock the vessel at the pier. And, so the Elysium Explorers waited an additional two hours, almost within spitting distance of the dock.

Waterproof Expeditions, our European tour company, worked magic to get Aerolineas Argentinas SA to hold the last flight of the night — bound for Buenos Aires — for our group of 28 outbound Explorers. Needless to say, it was a chaotic scene, dockside, as the Explorers’ 100 bags (average weight, each around 35 kilograms) were loaded into a small moving truck and whisked to the airport. In the end due to time constraints, none of the bags were able to accompany the Explorers to Buenos Aires, jeopardizing international flight connections that evening and the following day.

When we reconvened the next afternoon, at Buenos Aires’ domestic airport, cautious optimism hung in the air. Would the bags make it? If not, would we need to rebook our international flights, meaning that some of us would spend three or four days in Buenos Aires, waiting for the next connecting flight?

When Marlynda Elstgeest. Waterproof Expedition’s Managing Director, stepped out of the luggage area, smiled, and made the sign of victory, the group erupted with collective cheers and applause Together, Marlynda Elstgeest, Göran Ehlmé, and Peter Szyszka, all of Waterproof, had pulled a rabbit out of a hat — all but one of the bags had arrived in Buenos Aires.

Cheap champagne was consumed by all as we shuttled bags. Thus began the sad process of saying “good-byes.” Most of the Explorers from 19 countries were about to start their long journeys home — some, however, had missed connections, and would stay in Buenos Aires for several days… which is not a huge hardship.

I was away for 27 days, in total, and most of this time was spent in the company of 56 other amazing explorers. I’ve made friendships, and have established creative and professional alliances which, I believe, will last for a lifetime.

My final dispatch, from Calgary, will answer the question that friends, family, associates, and sponsors have all posed: “What was the most exciting thing that you experienced in Antarctica and South Georgia?”

During the next week, I will endeavour, to establish a photo gallery on my website. And, I’ll also formally thank my corporate sponsors who shared my vision of science and exploration in the 21st century, and the earth science departments of two Canadian universities, and the Calgary- and Canmore-area schools, all of whom followed by blog while I was at the bottom of the world…