Danzenbaker Tour Journal: Antarctica at Last

January 14: Into the Sea Ice

Bump….crunch…. I awoke to these wonderful sounds at 4:30 in the morning as the Polar Star plowed through sea ice with embedded icebergs. Somehow I managed to steal another hour of sleep before getting up and going to the bridge for on-watch duties. The austere frozen land and seascape that stretched out in all directions fit the mental image one has when they envision Antarctica – wide expanses of ice floating amid cold blue water. Sometimes its difficult to understand how any creature could survive such harsh conditions, but this morning our passengers would start to understand that life abounds here.  

For those who desperately wanted to see this denizen of the great white south, finding a lone Emperor Penguin was both thrilling and a relief. It was seen by most before it plunge into the frigid water.

Less than a half hour after ascending to the bridge, we saw a lone penguin on an ice floe about 50 meters from the ship. I looked at it and immediately recognized that it was a sub-adult Emperor Penguin, a species that took us 45 hours to find on last year’s voyage. We sounded an alert and within minutes everyone piled out of cabins and stumbled onto outside decks to view this prize.

Emperor Penguin is the species made famous by “The March of the Penguins” movie.  They can be surprisingly difficult to find during the non-breeding season. Most breeding sites can only be visited by helicopter or arduous foot travel as the colonies are far removed from the water's edge. Sub-adult Emperors are the age class most commonly encountered during cruises since they have the highest tendency to wander far from the colonies. Most adult Emperors travel south to the edge of the polar pack ice to feed.

Snow Petrels were common as we entered the sea ice
zone. The all white plumage with black eye, bill, and legs blended in well with the iceberg-studded scenery.

In addition to the Emperor Penguin, we were excited to see multiple Antarctic Petrels flying around and very near the ship. I had feared that yesterday’s sighting would be the only one of the trip. Today’s incredible tally of 24 was not only record day count for a Cheeseman tour, but it surpassed all previous trip totals! This species nests inland far south of our location and is usually only encountered in pack ice. We have only seen Antarctic Petrels on four previous Antarctic expeditions, thus today's encounters were a special surprise.

Snow Petrels were very common during the morning hours, including one flock of 15 of this elegant tubenose. Many Crabeater Seals were lounging on ice floes, a few of which were close enough for decent photos. Eventually, we left the ice and continued sailing north and west to the Bransfield Strait and Antarctic Sound, our passage to today's destination – Paulet Island. En route, we encountered more Crabeater Seals, a few Leopard Seals, Humpback Whales and a few Black-browed Albatross. The weather deteriorated to steady snow and fairly windy conditions. We hoped we would escape the weather during the night and that fine weather would be delivered to us by morning.

Crabeater Seals are the most abundant pinniped in the world and commonly
seen on ice floes. Many individuals were not disturbed by our passing.

All photos by Jim Danzenbaker