** ANTARCTICA - 2002 **
** Chapter FOUR **
** DECEPTION ISLAND (an ex-volcano!) **
This is the 10 December 2004 edition
of this page.
9 December 2002 (continued)
Towards the end of 'lunch', our ship entered the Deception Island Caldera - at 12.30hrs. It, sure, was better
protected from the winds here!! (It has only a hurricane-force wind as distinct from the VERY STRONG North-westerly
'impossible' winds and very large ICEBERGS outside!) Our captain had to assess the landing possibilities here. The announcement came after
he had toured (complete with ship!) around the interior of the CALDERA. Even at 12.50hrs, the winds, he reported,
were still at 40-50knots (less than 'outside' but still 'impossible'!)
So we waited in the shelter of the caldera for 3 hours in case things improved. Reports were that the barometer is
moving in a favourable direction - but he'll make the decision later!
I went inside the shop on Deck4 to see what 'goods' they have! It turned out to be mostly clothing - and little edible
matter!! Fortunately, the attendant has got an ANTARCTIC EXPLORER MAP for 87 kroners (Norwegian), which
I bought using the 'cruise card'. I shall be able to study this during our wait in the caldera. At about 12.30hrs, I took
a photo from the inside of the caldera from the side of the ship having LEAST rain on the windows. Here's hoping!!
I watched the English Version Video of David Attenborough's LIFE IN THE FREEZER (Part 3) with Ron, Freda
and Martin. It finished at 14.30hrs, so then I took exterior photos from Deck5, showwing the Caldera in a better
light!
I, then, had to change my film, loading Reel 272 at 14.58hrs. Martin, Freda and I chatted after getting changed for
the onshore expedition to DECEPTION ISLAND at WHALER'S BAY (rather than the 'Telephon Bay' where we
had waited for the pleasant calmness to arrive.) Then it was a matter of getting the boots, life-jackets and ZODIAC
craft to the internal shore of this island - where I stayed from 5.00pm until 6.00pm. Some of the more adventurous
even went for an "Antarctic Swim".
On the 'beach', there were penguins, geothermal fumes, an old wreck of a whaling barge and birds in the water (closeby in the caldera).
The second photo shows the NORDNORGE behind the whaler's wreck!
Our standard ZODIACs were powered by YAMAHA60 engines. My socks had got very wet, through the
overboots and paddling to the shore. I couldn't change them until I was back in the cabin, before quietly doing some writing
until 18.17hrs.
Our expeditions to the beach on the caldera were in small groups of 33 (A), 32 (B), 30 (C) and 29 (D) - but there
timings were such as not to exceed the 100 (max limit) as specified in the ANTARCTIC PROTOCOL. (you can see by the
group numbers that our total was 124 - so we had to be careful about the 'timing'!)
The 'order' of the groups circulated in a sensible basis at each stop - so everyone got into each position.
I went to the restaurant at 17.30hrs for a LARGE EVENING MEAL with Ron, Martin and Freda - and we all got stuck-into
a beautiful VEAL main-course. Our small group (the four of us) left last at about 21.25hrs, at which time we went our separate
ways to the individual cabins to 'steady' ourselves and then rest a while until 22.30hrs.
(The travelogue will continue in the next chapter.)
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