MS National Geographic Explorer
The Gullet and Detaille Island
Monday, February 21, 2011

    The ship continued south along the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula overnight, crossing the Antarctic Circle about 2 am ship's time. I was asleep and didn't even feel the bump as we hit the circle. I awoke just before 5 am and went out on the aft sundeck. About this time, there appeared slight predawn red and orange streaks in the sky above the Antarctic Peninsula off the port side. Slowly, these colors intensified and offered some photographic opportunities.

    This far south, dawn and dusk seem to go on forever. After getting some nice predawn images, I returned to my cabin and finished getting ready for the day. I then returned to the sundeck and waited and waited for the sun to finally peek out above the horizon. As it did, the ship passed by some icebergs that were between the ship and the land, and this provided a chance for a couple of quick images of the sunrise and its golden effect on the sea.

    The rest of the morning was spent in The Gullet, an incredible location for Zodiac cruising among the ice. The sky was overcast, but there was good light and very calm water. This meant that the cliffs and ice were casting reflections wherever you looked. There were also many seals basking on the ice; fur seals, crabeaters, Weddell, and even a lone leopard seal. All the seals seemed quite content to lie around and sleep. Occasionally, one would lazily raise its head and look around at the Zodiac.

    While waiting for the Zodiacs to be prepared, I was able to snap a photograph of a Wilson's storm petrel from the bow of the ship. I've been trying to get a shot of one for over two years and am really pleased to have finally captured one. These little petrels flit around just above the surface and dart this way and that in a seemingly random way. If you are fast and look closely, you can see their feet dancing in the air and periodically touching the surface of the sea as they search for little tidbits to eat. The real goal is to get a shot low-down from a Zodiac with the feet dancing on the water, but that will have to wait for another time.

    Following lunch, we headed north a short way and turned around a corner to visit Detaille Island. Detaille is a small island where a British research base (hut) was in operation between 1956 and 1959. I had visited Detaille in January 2009. The weather then was lots of wind and horizontal snow and was a really challenging landing. Today, it was overcast, very little wind, and an easy landing.

    There is currently a crew of three at the base from the British Antarctic Historical Survey. They are quickly trying to finish up some repairs that will hopefully weatherproof the hut and protect its contents. This includes repairing the roof, shuttering the windows, and weatherproofing the doors. Often in winter, the hut would fill with ice and snow, which is not too good for the papers and other artifacts within.

    There was enough time to also use Zodiacs to cruise around the island and view some of the picturesque ice and see the blue-eyed shags, fur seals, south polar skua, and Adélie penguins that call the island home.

    The ship departed Detaille Island as soon as we were all back on board. We are headed north and will re-cross the Antarctic Circle tonight. We plan to arrive at the southern entrance of the Lemaire Channel in the morning and make landings on Petermann Island and Booth Island. The weather forecast is for change from the fabulous weather of the last two days to something that might be considered “Antarctic”; more wind, rain, and cold.