Wednesday 6 August 2008
My Antarctic Experience
by Keith Lugton
Keith is very much a local man (Cheam) having lived in Epsom and Ewell for a number of years. Some while back he spent seven years in New Zealand and through family connections was influenced by, Sir Edmund Hillary and also his boyhood hero the explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. This connection led him this year (2008) to visit the Antarctic for the first time and he presented a rapid covering of his trip, the reasons for it and a multitude of observations put over in an interesting and entertaining manner.
Keith had planned to make a tour in 2009 but with his wife's encouragement and the help of a local agent in Banstead decided "do not put off what you can do today!"
He travelled solo, his wife declining the offer, he first flew to the province of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina and joined the Ocean Nova the expedition ship. This had an itinerary that travelled to the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), South Georgia and the Antarctic Circle. Keith related varies aspects of each part of the trip which involved landing for quite long periods.
He pointed out the vastness of Antarctica that only a small portion of it can be explored during a two week period. The Antarctic Peninsula, that part of the continent that points toward the tip of South America, is so long that it spans 12 degrees of latitude, approximately 1200 km or 800 miles.
Humans never inhabited Antarctica (although many nations have research camps located there) and exploration of the continent by tourists is relatively recent. For many, perhaps, the most appealing aspect of Antarctica is its wildlife. Although there are only a few native species, those that have adapted to the harsh environment thrive in large numbers. Penguin populations are counted in the tens of thousands in some rookeries. When the engines are turned off, the only sounds you hear are natural - wildlife, water and the occasional boom of icebergs crashing.
Getting to Antarctica is as much a part of the experience as exploring it. The body of water that separates Antarctica from South America is the Drake Passage. The Drake acts like a funnel, concentrating the energy produced by the winds and currents of the Southern Ocean. The result can be rough water, some of the roughest in the world. Yet some crossings are relatively quiet, providing extraordinary opportunities for birding and whale watching. The unpredictability of the Drake Passage is intoxicating. A crossing is the perfect introduction to expedition-style travel; where unpredictability is the only thing you can truly count on, Keith highlighted two days of extra storming weather with the ship healing over dramatically in the high velocity winds as perhaps the nautical highlight of the trip.
Icebergs in peaceful morning lightThe ship Ocean Nova has a clean, crisp Scandinavian styling and has a reputation as an excellent ship for Antarctic exploration and Keith spoke highly of the superb arrangement of both crew and accommodations etc more can be found here. Purpose-built to sail the ice-choked waters of Greenland, Ocean Nova's ice-strengthened hull has enabled the ship to park in the ice of the Weddell Sea! Plus a low draft that has access near the waterline, this as Keith pointed out is different from larger cruise ships where this tends to be from a higher deck with many steps to climb in both directions.
The ship “Ocean Nova” with Keith Lugton
Spacious dining room with unreserved seating: buffet-style breakfast with table service; table-service lunch and dinner with main course choices from a changing daily menu; cakes served in mid-afternoon.
Ship Specifications
Staff & Crew: 38
Passengers: 68
Length: 73.0 m
Breadth: 11.0 m
Draft: 3.7 m
Propulsion: Diesel engines – 2,000-horsepower
Ice Class: 1B, EO (Hull Ice 1A)
Cruising Speed: 12 knots in open water
Keith told us although he had gone well prepared with reading material but his time was full with the onboard lectures, briefings for shore visit etc and of course enjoying the splendid meals and the excellent leaders, he related a couple, typical would be Laurie Dexter the expedition leader who has a background in physical education, theology and anthropology. Originally from Scotland, he immigrated to Nunavut, Canada, where he learned the survival skills and language of the Inuit. Laurie has run over 60 marathons, but he is also an ultra-distance runner, he is a Fellow of the Explorers Club and the Royal Geographic Society.
Keith told us that getting close to the wild life at very close quarters was indeed thrilling, their guides advised no closer than five metres please, but alas the residents were more inquisitive than understanding of metric units!
Some of the following photographs provided by Keith, with thanks, indicate the close proximity or the magnitude in numbers of some of the rookeries.
Albatross chick on the nest
King penguins in their thousands
Gentoo penguins being inquisitive
Adelie penguin diving from iceberg
Ernest Shackleton’s grave with Keith Lugton
Weddell seal
Humpback whale’s flukes
Just to prove I went swimming in the sub zero sea on the end of an essential safety ropeAfter the presentation, Keith answered a range of question, such as who owns the rights to the expected oil to be found under the continent? He answered this was covered by an agreed convention that covered areas above the 60 degree parallel, but the cost of drilling and extracting in these severe climate seems to preclude exploitation in the near future, but who knows? Pat Hunt proposed a vote of thanks to Keith for a most informative and well presented lecture, we all agreed with warm applause.
