After leaving Ushuaia, MS Fram had entered Drake Passage overnight.
As predicted the smooth seas we had experienced early in the Beagle Passage soon gave way to pitching with the swell.
Our expedition voyage on Hurtigruten’s MS Fram would take us from Ushuaia to Antarctica, to South Georgia, around the Falklands and then onto Montevideo.Saturday the 25th February was our first full day at sea on MS Fram.
View through our Deck 3 cabin window
Lecture on landings in Antarctica
After breakfast we attended the mandatory briefing about landings in Antarctica. Everyone who planned to go onto the ice had to attend and sign their understanding of compliance with the bio-hazard precautions.
(Quote of the day)
Thank you for attending the mandatory lecture on landings
The briefing covered boarding the Polar Circle boats that would take us to the ice. We had to use the seamens’s grip when entering or leaving these boats. We were advised on what clothes to wear. No food or drink except water could be taken onto the ice.
While on the ice we were to stay at least 15 feet away from wildlife and to remember that some of the animals are very territorial and stay even further away from them.
Once on the landing zone we would be given a briefing by a member of the shore party. This would detail what was there and what to be careful of. This would be a reminder to help move our common sense up a notch.
We had to wear ‘Muck Boots’ when on the ice and these were to cleaned and disinfected both before and after a landing. Everything we were to wear and to take with us onto the ice had to vacuumed to ensure that we were not carrying seeds (or anything else) with us. Our Muck Boots and jackets would be issued later.
We did have an explanation as to which landings we would be trying to go to which were all entirely dependent on the weather. If we were lucky we would also pass through places where there would be whales.
We learnt that Port Lockley had closed for the season but we could leave postcards with Fram’s reception and these would be posted next season for the penguin post office.
It was fascinating that every country ‘agrees’ not to harm Antarctica and not to enforce their territorial claims. The latest claim coming from Turkey only a few weeks before the lecture!
IAATO
We learnt about the two organisations that Hurtigruten was a member of. These are the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) and the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO). Both these organisations exits to maintain best practice for safety and protecting the environment in Antarctica and the Arctic for tourists.
IAATO – A member organization founded in 1991 to advocate and promote the practice of safe and environmentally responsible private-sector travel to the Antarctic.
The lecture ended with a video to remind all of us what we had learnt in the lecture. (This is similar to the one we watched).
Shopping and new jackets
The shop was then very busy with fellow passengers buying what they were missing. In our case it was waterproof bags for the cameras and a water bottle.
A list of additional bookable trips was now available. These were cruising in the larger Polar Circle boats at the landings, staying overnight on the ice and a geology tour in the Falklands. The sign up sheets were at reception and we did sign up for a later bridge visit.
This was an opportunity to meet up fellow passengers who were going to see rock hopper penguins in the Falklands. They had signed for a bridge tour just before us and I recognised their names. Lunch was a buffet and after the lecture in the morning we all had a lot to talk about. We were joined by two American ladies who regaled us with their adventures in Buenos Aires.
We were not the only ones to be bothered with having to put suitcases in the evening at the hotel in Buenos Aires. Especially having to keep back clothes and the like for the next day. One of the ladies had packed everything for the next day. This meant she had to remonstrate with the hotel management to gain access to the suitcases. She could then swap her nightdress for clothes to travel in.
After lunch it was time to pick up our jackets for use when ashore. This season our jackets were blue with yellow hoods. We were ‘fitted’ down on Deck 2 in the tender area. This was our first experience (of many) down there.
We had been warned that during the night and the next day that the weather would ‘worsen’. This would mean that the seas would get much rougher. On my early morning tea run my thermal cup from MS Finnmarken had lost its handle. Reception offered to give it to ship’s engineering to try and get it repaired.
Drake Passage
The decks were still open and we went outside with our new jackets to get some fresh air and to look for whales. We started at the bow on Deck 5 and then moved to the stern on Deck 7.
I was lucky to be standing with a couple of guys who knew a lot more about birds. This was when I started my education on Antarctic sea birds.
Taking images of sea birds on a pitching ship is a lot more difficult than I imagined. These first images leave a lot to desired and I had to hope my skill level would improve.
Back on Deck 4 we caught the end of a lecture on the geology of Antarctica. Antarctica had separated from South America millennia ago. This then allowed currents to flow and eventually for the continent to get colder and for the first snow to fall.
That night we had our first assigned sitting for a meal. We were on the first sitting and the meal was house salad, salmon followed by creme brule. The Observation Lounge was empty after our meal as everyone was either eating or in their cabins. We tried the draft Mack beer at much lower prices than in Norwegian waters.
MS Fram was still in warm waters had yet to cross over the boundary to cold water in the night. This area is a favourite spot for whales because of the available food there. The position of the boundary ebbs and flows but we would definitely be through it by morning.