Cape Horn Tuesday 7th January 2020

Yes Cape Horn is certainly an extra bonus. 10 degrees so a virtual heatwave too.

Garrie has become addicted to Seinfeld and I spent half the night coughing. (Janet and Doug probably still remember the sound from the Bike & Barge in 2014).

Presentation: The Future of Antarctica –Industries and Resources with geopolitics specialist Claire.

Clearly I was watching from our room again as these are pics of the TV but frankly I have almost no memory of it.

Morphed from whaling and sealing to fisheries of krill and tourism. Antarctic ice berg harvesting. Talked about. They are fresh water. Source of fresh drinking water. First raised in 1978. Feasibility studies. Costs vs rewards. Died off. Difficult to do. 2017 UAE didn’t happen in 2019 but intending to try this year.

Cost US$50-60million for one ice berg. Also Africa considering after the drought in Cape Town. Ownership issue, invasive species, underwater sea cables, traffic separation schemes – running into other ships. Maximum 1 knot to stop accelerated melting even then 50% expected to go.

Tourism. Started in the 1970s. Antarctic peninsula the most popular. Ships work well as don’t need anything on land. Can fly to avoid the Drake to small strip on king George island. No flying to the Ross sea area – no landing. Can get to interior Union Glacier – blue ice runway. Has to be temporary facilities if doing anything on land. Tents. Mountaineering expeditions. Proximity to South Pole. And highest peak on the continent. Mt Vinson. Also Antarctic marathon. More competition now in Antarctica. Fat bike to the South Pole. “Firsts” ie a women wanted to be the first to drive a tractor to the South Pole. Internal tourism small numbers. Main nationalities US, Australia, European countries and China.

Expedition cruises. 34,000 to 43000 in ten years. There are many more cruises that just drive by. If over 500 you cannot disembark. Under 500 you can but just 100 on shore at a time. Quark was the second down here. 45000 last year. Still very small in comparison to other areas of tourism. Concerns that they are concentrating in one area (the peninsular) and short time span. Moving to more purpose built ships. 28 operators now in the Antarctic. 19 purpose built ships coming out soon. Looking at emissions too. Electrical power (diesel back-up). Official sites have to be booked so only one vessel at a place at a time. Less flexibility with more ships. Argentinian boat sank the explorer sank 2007. Also environmental pollution issues eg oil spills – specific type of fuel has to be used. Search for the Beserk 2011 it sank off Ross sea ice shelf. He was denied permits but went anyway. Three people died. He went again without permits but Chile caught him and he is in goal.

Minerals and hydrocarbons. Limited knowledge of what is here – treaty prohibits exploration. Australians found diamonds. Presumed could be oil here due to the Gondwana history.

2048 the mineral ban could change but 3/4 majority needed to change it. $230 per barrel before it becomes viable as so expensive to extract it here. China interested in resources. Seabed collection might be just legal – nodule mining. In its infancy. Seabed floor isn’t considered as part of the treaty ban.

Presentation: Climate Crisis…Really? The Facts, Impacts, and Mitigation of Climate Change with your geologist & glaciologist David J in the Nautilus Lounge

Climate and weather are not the same thing. Based on fact NOT opinion. Climate has changed ever since the beginning. But records indicate normal climate change takes place over millions of years, not the current situation. Today’s warming is due to the burning of coal, oil and gas. Ice cores and some go as deep as two miles in depth. They provide clues. Oldest 123,000 years Greenland 800,000 years ago in cores from Antarctica. Co2 stable until the industrial revolution. Carbon isotopes also show the same thing. Carbon 12 ratio to carbon 13. 97% scientists agree. Expert consensus is a powerful thing. Smoking analogy. 194 of 195 countries signed onto the Paris agreement (US did not). Rate of change faster than some animals and plants can adapt. Oceans and corals. Increasing water temperatures and increasing acidity creating issues, both created by human induced climate change. Loss of coral undermines tourism, incoming storms, fishing industry. They are akin to tropical rainforests. Once bioversity is lost… krill and ice melt. Need the right temperature for breeding and food source of phytoplankton. They feed on sea ice and as shelter. As warming less food source could lose 80% of their habitat. Agriculture will be hit, lower ground water, temperature increases, food will also become less nutritious- less zinc, iron and protein. Loss of food security. Mosquito borne diseases and increase in asthma. Tick borne diseases. We are destroying our own habitats.

Motivator to action. Current technology is available to make the changes and will give out economic benefits. Improved fuel economy. More public transport and encourage cycling. More efficient buildings. Get rid of coal. Forest management. Soil management. Some companies pushing hard eg GE. Nike, waste reduced by 60%. United Airlines – geared turbo fan engine. Amsterdam all electric cars by 2030. Congress stopped trump pulling out of Paris.

Personal actions. Make it work for you. Smart power strips – check them out. Buy less stuff!! Eat less meat esp. beef and lamb. Your next car. Let MPs know we are concerned about climate change. Spread the word. In order for someone to put energy into protecting the place unless you have a connection so flying etc. worth it if it empowers others.

Yet another excellent presentation filled with facts. If only our leaders would stop the greed and heed the need for change. 😢

The Drake still being kind and we are making good time towards Cape Horn expecting to arrive around 1.45pm.

Cape Horn marks the most southern point where the open waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meet, meaning that ships can sail around the South American continent without making use of privately controlled passages. Cape Horn’s history is full of human endeavour and bravery, as sailors sought to push the limits of human achievement. Rounding Cape Horn is said to be the nautical equivalent of reaching Mount Everest’s summit. It’s also considered part of the fastest route to sailing around the world.

It could not have been calmer. Hard to believe what had happened here to ships in the past.

Plenty of black browed albatross around.

2.45pm there was a Disembarkation Briefing with Jaymie. All the information we needed about the disembarkation process tomorrow morning in Ushuaia. 😢😢😢

Had to laugh at the “Reintroduction to adulting” section which included “How to fold your parka.” Amazing how small it becomes when folded correctly. They also told us about our photo journal which will be available in a few weeks and which we have a year to download. It includes all the photos we contributed, photos the official photographer, Michelle, took, maps etc.

Our luggage must be in the corridor by 7am. 6.30 breakfast. 7am – 7.45 passports returned. Announcement re boarding passes. 8.30am disembark. By deck. Snack bag at reception. Expecting 9 degrees wet in Ushuaia and 32 degrees in Buenos Aires.

Then we watched a Movie about rounding Cape Horn. Taken in 1920s and narrated by the same person in 1980s. Capt Irving Johnston. Some calm days but some very stormy days too. Again we have been blessed.

Presentation: Explore Further – Travelling to the Arctic with Quark in the Nautilus Lounge.

Some very interesting video clips. Obviously you see Polar bears not penguins.

Sea birds. Communities of indigenous peoples. Small ships and zodiacs. More space to roam, fire arm bearers accompany you. Svalbard. Mid May to late August best time.

Svalbard or add Greenland and iceland. Sea ice see earlier in season. Svalbard best chance to see a bear. Early see them on sea ice. Seals. Walrus. Blue whale good population near Svalbard see every two to three trips. June to August see. Walrus same June to August. Birds. June. Arctic fox when birds are on eggs. Ice. World’s third largest glacier. Flowers. High concentration.

Greenland and Canada, norse history. (Vikings). Inuits. Musk Ox Canada sometimes parts of Greenland. Very shy. Beluga whales. Arctic foxes, walrus. Animals widely spread out. Community visits. Greenland is the most similar to Antarctic scale regarding ice. Sledge dogs. Canada – windswept. Feeling alone. Vast areas of desolation. Inuit specialist on the expedition team. Great hiking. Tourism in its infancy there. Narwhal if very lucky.

Russian arctic. Rarely visited, seldom seen and magical. Abandoned soviet research stations. Landscapes. Groups split to hiking groups. Walrus and bears.

Geographic North Pole. Much different to any other. Russian federation ice breaker. A bit more rugged than the Ocean Endeavour. Helicopter tours. Watching the ship pushing through ice. Guarantee polar bears. Walrus. Wildlife diminishes as towards the pole. Main objective to get to the pole. Look for an ice flow to put a couple of hundred people onto. Hot air balloon optional but helicopters included. BBQ on the ice. Takes 4-6 days to get there. 5-6 degrees can be at North Pole.

Yes the Artic is very tempting, though I think there will be less wildlife and a need for an even bigger zoom.

Captain’s Farewell Cocktails – Captain Dmytro Ashanin. Standing ovations for the Captain and the Expedition team.

Clearly this has been a remarkable trip for us all and including Solan and the Captain. Many more excursions than completed on average and some of the very best places.

Farewell Dinner where we met the 80 member hospitality crew. They served 14000 meals on this trip.

After dinner we joined Michelle & the Expedition for our Voyage Slideshow! Over 2000 photos submitted but Michelle whittled it down to a brilliant 25 minute film. Possible 9 stills were mine. So thrilled we will receive a copy of this.

So sad to be heading to bed for the last time on this totally amazing journey. Tomorrow back to Buenos Aires.