Southern Ocean 2023 by Harvey Croze

SOUTHERN OCEAN 2023

A small group of friends had waited nearly three years for the coast to be Covidclear before they could embark on an 18-day cruise that took them from Usuaia, Argentina, to the Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia, and the Falklands/Malvinas.

Left to right: Chantal Mariotte, Harvey Croze, Cristina Croze-Boelcke, Veerle Vandeweerd, Leen Labeeuw, Tim Labeeuw, Maarten Labeeuw, and Monika MacDevette.

Harvey Croze

Nairobi, 2024

Estancia el Ombu de Areco

Aeropuerto Aeroparque, Buenos Aires

Beagle Cahannel

Ushuaia

M/V Hondius Ship’s Log

Day 1 –Thursday 2 February 2023, Ushuaia, Embarkation Day

12h00 GPS Position: At Port Ushuaia Wind: SE-2 • Sea State: At Port • Weather: Partly Cloudy • Air temp: 17°C • Sea temp: 12°C

At 6.30pm it is time for Captain’s cocktails to celebrate the beginning of the voyage with a glass of prosecco and canapes. Captain Toni makes a welcome speech and we all toast to a good trip ahead. The Expedition Staﬀ introduce themselves; it is interesting to meet all of them and learn where they are from. As the ship sails through the Beagle Channel … our ﬁrst meal on board...

M/V Hondius (see book endpiece for speciﬁcatiions)

USHUIA TO THE ANTARCTIC PENINSULA VIA THE DRAKE PASSAGE

2-4 February, Days 1-3

ANTARCTIC PENINSULA

Portal Point - Danco Island - Palaver Point - Paulet Island - Brown Bluff

5-7 February, Days 4-6

Day 4 – Sunday 5 February 2023, Antarctic Peninsula, Portal Point & Danco Island

08:00 GPS Position: 64°30.1’S / 061°44.3’W Wind: N-2 • Sea State: Calm • Weather: Partly Cloudy • Air temp: 0° C • Sea temp: 2°C

Portal point is a continental landing, which means for some of us, that we reach our 7th continent. As we arrive at the rocky landing site, we are welcomed by our Expedition Leader Pippa who briefs us about the … the wildlife we will ﬁnd and the route we can follow. … At around 11am we are back on the ship to start our transfer from Charlotte Bay to the Errera Channel where the landing site for the afternoon is located…

The bravest amongst us even plan are joining the Polar plunge today. And it couldn’t be a better day! As the weather in the morning was a little cloudy and greyer it is a relief that the sky here at Danco is clear and blue and the sun is warming our faces and hands. The perfect day to do the polar plunge!

[During...] this absolutely stunning afternoon now it is time for the group of people who signed in for the polar plunge to face the reality and get ready to dive into the cold Antarctic waters… or maybe just dip in!

Saskia van der Meij

Cape Petrel

Crabeater Seal

Chilean Skua

Gentoo Penguin

Day 5 – Monday 6 February 2023, Antarctic Peninsula, Palaver Point

12h00 Position: 64°08.6’S / 061°46.2’W

Wind: NE-5 • Sea State: Smooth • Weather: Overcast

• Air temp: 0°C • Sea temp: 1°C

… 07:30 AM we close in to our chosen landing site for the morning: Palaver Point, inside Two Hummock Island (64°08’53”S 061°45’33”W). Despite being snowing outside, and under a gentle but chilly breeze… …The landing site is particularly interesting due to the Chinstrap penguin colony that resides there, on top of a big number of fur seals that decided to make this beach their home. The experience is complete with the magniﬁcent view of the immensity of the Gerlache Strait, that we have the luck to also go and explore with our zodiacs.

…During the afternoon we continue to make our way towards the Antarctic Sound, where we plan to spend the following day. While ship cruising the Northern shores of the Trinity Peninsula, and at around 5:30 PM we are pleasantly surprised by a very exciting sighting: Killer and Humpback Whales!

Chinstrap Penguins

Antarctic Fur Seal

Day 6 – Tuesday 7 February 2023, Antarctic Peninsula, Paulet Island and Brown Bluff

12h00 GPS Position: 63°34.6’S / 055°51.8’W

Wind: NW-1• Sea State: Good • Weather: Snow • Air temp: 1°C Sea temp: 1°C

The captain and the Bridge Team skillfully navigate us through the Antarctic Sound, and into the much less explored and visited Eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula. Our day look packed with activities, ﬁrst aiming to land in a small but very special Island (Paulet), and an afternoon spent in another famous site.... ...Brown Bluﬀ, a spectacular landing site on the foothills of an old englacial Volcano (with part of its eruptive activity underneath the ice!), and of which we can only infer its previous shape and form. Beautiful boulder called ventifacts cover the beach...

Adelie Penguin

Brown Bluff

Gentoo Penguins

Fur Seals

Snowy Sheathbill

Northern Giant Petrel

Leopard Seal

Leopard Seal with Penguin M. Oostiendien

Sasha Romanovski

L’Envoi

Day 7 – Wednesday 8 February 2023, at Sea and Elephant Island 08h00 Position: 61°24.5’S / 054°53.7’W Wind: SW-5 • Sea: Smooth • Weather: Overcast • Air temp: 6°C • Sea temp: 1°C

…. sail towards Elephant Island, with the hope of a short zodiac cruise at Point Wild, the exact location where Ernest Shackleton and his crew set up camp for four months whilst Shackleton and 5 men set oﬀ in one of their lifeboats, the James Caird, for South Georgia in order to ﬁnd a rescue ship for the remainder of his men. …As we transit towards Elephant Island, sailing north through the Prince Charles Channel, there are many eyes on the water in search of marine mammals.

… some of the staﬀ spot a few whale blows up ahead. As we draw closer, we begin to see blow after blow, scattered across the horizon. … we come upon approximately 100 Fin Whales in a huge feeding frenzy!

Slowly, though touched with glamour, the winter night went by,

And we longed to see the sunlight sweep up in the Northern sky. Still we wait in this icy fastness till the good sun sets us free, When no longer the tumbling billow is chained to a frozen sea.

Then shall our hardened bows dip gladly once more to the foam

Of the Southward driving roller as the good ship strives for home.

Brothers, we then shall be parted in a world that is greater by far

Than this weird and wondrous region shut in with an icy bar.

We shall read then in other pages words fashioned with easier pen, Each day with its list of changes in a world of busy men.

But our hearts will still be faithful to this Southern land of ours,

Though we wander in English meadows ‘mid the scent of English ﬂowers, When the soft southerly breeze shakes the blossom away from the thorn,

And ﬂings from the wild rose cup, the shining gift of the morn;

And when the scarlet poppies peep through golden wheat,

As the stronger winds of Autumn march in with heavier feet:

And when the ﬁelds are snow clad, trees hard in a frosty rime,

Our thoughts will wander Southward, we shall think of the grey old time;

Agai n dreams go back to our ﬁght with the icy foe;

The crash of the steel clad bows; the sob of the tilted ﬂoe

The tearing, rending asunder; the crack in the frozen ﬁeld;

The grating beneath the keel of the piece that sunk sooner than yield,

[Then the black lead of open water where the good ship gathered way,]

[The seal asleep on the ice ﬂoe, the quaint small penguins play.]

Our run through ice free ocean till the snowy peaks appeared, Crowned by the gold of the morning, shod with the glaciers weird .

[We shall see again the Barrier’s bold edge to the land of snow]

[Holding within its bosom the secret we longed to know,]

Then our joy at the furthest East where never yet man had been;

When through the curtain of falling snow the bare, black rocks were seen;

We shall dream of the ever increasing gales, the birds in their Northward ﬂight;

The magic of twilight colours, the gloom of the long, long night.

We shall dream of those months of sledging through soft and yielding snow:

The chafe of the strap-on the shoulder; the whine of the dogs as they go.

Our rest in the tent after marching; our sleep in the biting cold;

The Heavens now grey with the snow cloud, anon to be burnished gold;

The threshing drift on the tent side exposed to the blizzard’s might;

The wind blown furrows and snow drifts; the crystal’s play in the light;

And when, in the fading ﬁrelight, we turn these pages o’er,

We shall think of the times we wrote therein by that far off Southern shore.

With regret we shall close the story, yet ever in thought go back,

And success for each comrade will pray for on Life’s still unbeaten track;

And the love of men for each other that was born in that naked land,

Constant through life’s great changes will be held by our little band.

Though the grip of the frost may be cruel, and relentless its icy hold,

Yet it knit our hearts together in that darkness stern and cold.

- Sir Ernest Shackleton, c.1907

[See notes on last page.]

ELEPHANT ISLAND TO SOUTH GEORGIA

At Sea - Elephant Island - Iceberg A-76a

8-10 February, Days 7-9

Elephant Island

Day 8 – Thursday 9 February 2023, at Sea towards S. Georgia

014h00 GPS Position: 58°32.123’S / 047°18.990’W

Wind: NNE- 7/8

• Sea State: Moderate • Weather: Overcast • Air temp: 2° C • Sea temp: 7°C

A-76a is one of the largest icebergs ever recorded. When it broke free from the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in May 2021, it spanned over 4,000 square kilometers. Satellites have closely tracked its journey as it drifted more than 2,000 km northeast through the Weddell Sea, offering valuable insights into ice movement and its potential effects on shipping routes and marine ecosystems. When we encountered the iceberg in the Drake Passage, we were forced to steer eastwards for about an hour along its southern edge en route to South Georgia. Despite years of drifting, A-76a remained an imposing 135 km long and 25 km wide, weighing around 500 million tonnes. Its size and movement continue to attract the attention of climate scientists and oceanographers studying polar ice dynamics and the impacts of climate change.

SOUTH GEORGIA

Cooper Bay - St. Andrews Bay - Fortuna Bay - Salsbury Plain Stromness - Grytviken - Right Whale Bay 11-13 February, Days 10-12

Buxton Glacxier from St. Andrew Bay

Macaroni Penguins Cooper Bay

South Georgia Pipet

Wilson’s Storm Petrel

Southern Giant Petrels...

...and Leopard Seal feeding on penguin

Fur Seal Antarctic Cormorant

King Penguins at the foot of Buxton Glacxier from St. Andrew Bay

Southern Giant Petrel

Fur Seal pup (blond morph)

Elephant Seal weaners

Elephant Seals

Fortuna Bay

Day 11 – Sunday 12 February 2023,Fortuna Bay and Salisbury Plain 09h00 Position: 54°03.3’S / 036°50.6’W Wind: W-5 • Sea State: Smooth • Weather: Cloudy• Air temp: 7° C • Sea temp: 7°

Located on the north shores of South Georgia, Fortuna Bay is surrounded by a rugged, mountainous landscape and covered by rich, green tussac ﬁelds. Home to healthy populations of King Penguins, Antarctic Fur Seals, Elephant Seals, Brown Skuas, Giant Petrel and Antarctic Tern, this scenic bay was named after a co-owned Norwegian and Argentinian whaling ship.

Salsbury Plain

Antarctic Tern

Maarten Labeeuw

Day 12 – Monday 13 February 2023, Stromness and Grytviken

8h00 GPS Position: 54°09.6’S / 36°42.0’W

Wind: Variable-2 • Sea State: Calm • Weather: Overcast/Rain • Air temp: 7°C • Sea temp: 7°C …pulled into Stromness Harbour in the early hours ... not a breath of wind this morning and the cloud is low, hugging the mountains surrounding the derelict whaling station. Here Shackleton finished his epic expedition; when he heard the whistle sound from the station, he ... walked down the valley and into the hustle and bustle of the whalers. During lunchtime, many of us bio-secured our outer layers, boots and back packs (again) as we transit to Grytviken for our afternoon landing. We arrive shortly before 14:00 and welcome several of the South Georgia Heritage Trust Museum staff and Government Officials on board, where they deliver their welcome presentation and conduct final checks on our gear and the ship. Once given the all clear, we are all able to land on shore… Over the next couple of hours, in between rain showers, many of us enjoy a ‘Toast to the Boss’ with a wee dram of Shackleton whisky. We are also able to wander at our leisure around Grytviken…

Day 13– Tuesday 14 February 2023, at Sea towards Falkland Islands

12:00 GPS Position - 53° 17.4 S, 39° 27.9 W

Wind: NW-3 • Sea State: Moderate • Weather: Cloudy/Sunny • Air temp: 10°C • Sea temp: 7°C

…approaching the potential landing site of Right Whale Bay, at the north end of South Georgia ﬁrst thing in the morning. …conditions very windy and rainy but once in the shelter of the bay it turns into a lovely morning, …the swell conditions at both the shell door and on the beach forces the planned morning’s operations to be shelved. …wildlife spectacles throughout the day which has everyone glued to the outer decks. …epic show given to us by at least 25 Wandering Albatrosses which surrounded the ship as soon as we made the open sea...

Day 14 – Wednesday 15 February 2023, At sea towards the Falkland Islands

12h00 GPS Position: 52° 41,8 S, 46° 27.0 W

Wind: NW-6 • Sea State: Moderate • Weather: Foggy, slightly clearing mid morning • Air temp: 6°C • Sea temp: 8°C

Wandering Albatrosses, less than yesterday, but still beautifully gliding close to the ship. As well as the Black-browed, Grey-Headed and Light-Mantled Albatross and the bulky Northern and Southern Giant Petrel

Day 15 – Thursday 16 February 2023, at Sea towards the Falkland Islands

12h00 GPS Position: 52º01,9’S / 053.38,0’W

Wind: S-6 • Sea State: Rough • Weather: Partly Cloudy • Air temp: 6°C • Sea temp: 10°C

Today is a rough sea day. The most rebellious part of the World Ocean decides to remind us of its power. What we experience is not yet a hurricane but very strong winds that create big swells. Hondius starts rolling and stabilizers do not help much.

SOUTH GEORGIA TO LAS MALVINAS

At Sea - 14-16 February, Days 13-15

Snow Petrel

Dolphin Gull

LAS MALVINAS - THE FALKLAND ISLANDS

Port Stanley - Return to the Beagle Channelv 17-19 February, Days 16-18

Magellanic Penguins

Black-browed Albatros

Upland Geese

Striated Caracara

Black-browed Albatros

Falkland Steamerduck

Leopard Beach, Carcass Island

Brown Skua

Striated Caracara

Blackish Cinclodes (Tussacbird)

Magellanic Oystercatcher

Maarten Labeeuw

Southern Ocean 2023

Adventurers from the North penetrate the icy realms of the Southern Ocean

Thanks to:

The Master and Crew of the M/V Hondius for their skill and professionalism in taking us on the trip of a lifetime.

Oceanwide Expediations for being one of the few commercial enterprises in the world who help us see the world without destroying it.

Linking Tourism & Conservation, an NGO striving to reconcile the conﬂicts between human activity and biosphere conservation.

On-board: Cristina Boelcke

Harvey Croze

Maarten Labeeuw

Tim Labeeuw

Leen Labeeuw

Chantal Mariotte

Monika MacDevette

Chantal Mariotte

Veerle Vandeweerd

Full Ship Log: https://drive.google.com/ﬁle/d/1r8LI_w_Wg3ltnnTdQlyVY38OlmnjiXIX/view?usp=sharing

Birds of the Antarctic: https://www.oiseaux.net/birds/antarctic.htm

lL’Envoi, reproduced on Day 7, is from Jim Mayer’s Shackleton: A Life in Poetry (2014. Oxford:Signal Books. ISBN978-1-909930-10-0, p.50-52). The square-bracketed stanzas in were found in a recently discovered hand-written manuscript and published in Mayer’s book for the ﬁrst time.

www.croze.net

M/V Hondius, built in 2019, is the ﬁrst-registered Polar Class 6 vessel in the world, meeting the highest Lloyd’s Register standards for ice-strengthened cruise ships. It exceeds the IMO’s Polar Code requirements and is optimised for eco-friendly Arctic and Antarctic exploration. Compliant with the latest SOLAS (Safety Of Life At Sea) regulations, Hondius is 107.6 m long, 15.3 m wide, with a 5.3 m draft. She and cruises at 15 knots with two ABC main engines (total 4,200 kW).