The wind indeed had increased as we crossed to Deception Island.
The newsflash at the end of last night’s briefing that had forecast that the seas would get rough had been 100% correct. The crossing was rough overnight.
After sunrise I went out early on deck to get my first views of Deception Island. From the direction of our approach Neptune’s Bellows was not visible. The wind was still high and Fram was still pitching with the waves.
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.
On the morning of Wednesday 1st March we arrived at Deception Island. This active caldera was our last landing in Antarctica and we landed among fur seals to walk around an abandoned whaling station and Antarctic base
Along with the other early risers we had our first views of the island.
As we came closer the island was bathed in early morning light.
From last night’s briefing we had learnt that Deception Island was a an active volcano that had at one time been huge. It had collapsed in on itself and the sea had rushed in through a gap. This gap is now called Neptune’s Bellows. When a volcano collapses after the rapid evacuation of its magma chamber then the resulting formation is known as a caldera.
Neptune’s Bellows not only is narrow but it has a reef in the centre of the channel. Once inside the island a ship would be sheltered from any storms in the sea outside. This map of Deception Island is from Wikipedia.
A whaling station was established when whales that had been slaughtered had to be ‘processed’ on land. A British Antarctic Base was also established that included a runway and a hanger for aircraft.
Neptune’s Bellows
Fram was scheduled to go through Neptune’s Bellows at around 7 am. We did have a slight scheduling problem as our Boat Group was to be the first to called. We had to have had breakfast, watch the sail through and be ready to leave the ship!
The wind was fierce as Fram circled around the island and we had an announcement from the expedition team that said the wind was too strong to attempt the passage. We all left the decks and went for breakfast.
Fram held her position just by the passage while we were busy having breakfast.Then we had the good news that the wind had dropped enough to attempt the passage into the heart of the island. This was at about 7:30 am.
Deck 8 forward was packed as we all watched Fram manoeuvre to enter the channel. The ship had to stay close to the cliffs on the starboard side as this was the deepest water.
Port Foster
Once through Neptune’s Bellows, then the inside of the island was visible. This is called Port Foster.
