MS National Geographic Explorer
Half Moon Island
Saturday, February 19, 2011

    As we approached the South Shetland Islands this morning, it was with a chilly 30-knot wind that was whipping up the surface of the sea. As is often the case, the South Shetlands were shrouded in a misty fog.

    We found a partially protected anchorage at Half Moon Island, a location with chinstrap and gentoo penguins as well as quite a few Antarctic fur seals. Other birds on the island included a few southern giant petrels, snowy sheathbills, and the ever present south polar skua. This small island features some small hills with unusual rocky outcroppings and is surrounded by other islands featuring taller, glaciated mountains.

    The landing by Zodiac went well as the strong winds were to our backs as we landed. There is a very old, slowly decaying wooden whaler's boat grounded onshore that was surrounded by fur seals and occasionally visited by chinstrap penguins. Climbing about 100 feet up to a ridge provided a good view of the area and also took us up to the chinstrap rookeries. Most of the current inhabitants are this season's chicks. They are just about ready to go to sea and start their own lives without their parents.

    As the morning wore on, the wind continued to increase, making it more and more difficult to walk on the rocky and gravelly surfaces. There was also an occasional light rain that made it a challenge to keep camera lenses dry.

    The Zodiac ride back to the ship was into the wind, very choppy, and very wet. Even with full waterproof boots, pants, jacket, gloves, and head covering, it always seems that some water makes it way into your warm inner layers. After scrubbing off the guano and other gunk that you always accumulate on landings, it felt really good to return to my warm cabin where first priority is to clean and dry all the photo gear. After that, I could slip into warm, dry clothing and head off for a bit of lunch.

    Because the wind was increasing and the sea was getting rough, we cancelled our plans for a landing at nearby Barrientos Island and headed south along the western coast of the Antarctica peninsula. Our plans call for landings tomorrow at Neko Harbour and again on Cuverville Island. Both are sites of gentoo colonies and great places for photography.