20221223 Friday December 23, 2022. Damoy Point Research Hut, Gentoo Penguins, Lone Adelie Penguin and Submarine Ride

 20221223 Friday December 23, 2022 Damoy Point Research Hut, Gentoo Penguins, lone Adélie penguin and Submarine Ride

The ship had arrived at Damoy Point overnight and activities were scheduled early.  However, from our stateroom, we could see white caps.  We had been booked on the submarine for today, but this conflicted with a Kayak excursion and Zodiac landing.  We went down to the excursion embarkation station and learned that the kayak excursions were cancelled due to wind, but that the sub drivers had taken out one of the submarines and were testing the conditions.  Ultimately, the submarines were give the go ahead, along with the Zodiac landings and SOB.  

John and Price got booked on the same submarine as us, while Ciara and Tom didn’t get on a submarine today.  We had all been booked on the kayak excursion.  Ciara and Tom did a SOB instead and did two Zodiac landings.  

We were thrilled to actually get to experience the sub activity.  Transferring from the Zodiac to and from the sub was a bit tricky, but safely managed.  The hardest part was maneuvering around in the very tight space in the sub to get into your assigned seat.  The seats are assigned based on weight balance so the sub will maintain a neutral position in the water.  

The technology in the submarine was pretty amazing.  They had all manner of monitors for O2 concentration, cabin pressure, depth and a pair of side scanning sonars.  They also had some sort of link with the dive support vessel on the surface that could transmit voice messages.  Radio won’t work under water, so it must be some sort of acoustic link.  

At the surface, being inside one of the two acrylic spheres with the surface waves splashing over the top of the sub was like being inside a Maytag washing machine.  We were surrounded by a brilliant pale blue light.  Visibility was limited to about 40’ due to turbidity of the water.  

As the sub began to dive, it was very quiet, except for the sounds of an occasional ballast pump that sounded like the electric marine head on our SeaSport boat.  As we descended, the color of our Viking Red Parkas morphed into purple, then violet, and then grey as we dropped to the bottom, which was at about 300’.  The sub is capable of going to 1200’.  As we descended, we could see some zooplankton in the sub’s light beams.  When we got to the bottom, we could see star fish, sea pens, sea anemones, sponges and sea pens.  The largest animals were Sea Suns, which look like brittle stars with numerous very long legs radiating out from their bodies.  Some of these legs would reach up into the water, and one Sea Sun was poised on the top of a rock with half it’s arms reaching out into the surrounding water.  We saw some sea lice swimming about, but no fish.  At the end of the dive, we were surprised by the sudden appearance of a Gentoo penguin as he swam very rapidly around us at that 300’ depth, and then disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared.  Our sub driver said this was the first time he had personally seen a penguin during one of his submarine dives.  The driver had to be careful with maneuvering the sub to avoid hitting the bottom and stirring up sediments that obscured vision, and he said we were mostly at the mercy of any prevailing currents. The trip back to the surface only took a few minutes.  In some ways the sub excursion was like a visit to an aquarium with a tunnel where you can walk along at the bottom of some enormous tank.  But were were thrilled to have been able to do this as part of our cruise experience without having to pay extra.  I saw on SilverSea cruises, which operate similar subs, that those excursions are an extra $900-1200 each.  

While the sub ride was one of the most highly anticipated activities, the highlight of the day was the Zodiac landing at Damoy Point and the walk on land to see the British Antarctic Expedition research hut museum and the nearby colonies of Gentoo Penguins.  As a bonus, there was a solitary Adélie penguin visitor checking out his Gentoo Penguin neighbors.  

Landing on the beach, there was a small rocky beach with several penguins nest building near by.  Steps were cut into the compacted snow and ice that lead up to the hut and main penguin colonies.  There was a couple hundred feet of elevation gain, and probably a mile of trudging through the compacted snow and ice.  You had to be careful to stay in tracks laid by prior guests lest your foot and leg break through the crust and sink you to knee deep in the snow bank.  Viking provides trekking poles for all of these excursions, which is a big help.  

It’s hard to imagine having to spend months in one of these research huts, which were no bigger than a 30’ RV but accommodated 6 researchers.  They were mostly plywood and 2x4’s.  Most of the equipment dated to the 1960’s and relied mostly on kerosine.  Fortunately, they were generally only used during the Antarctic summers.  

There was nest building and egg laying going on in the Gentoo penguin colonies.  Unfortunately for the penguins, we saw numerous penguin eggs in the snow that had been snatched by Skua birds, dropped in the snow and eaten.  The Skuas are the closest thing to a raptor in the Antarctic.  They can carry penguin eggs in their beaks and feed primarily on penguin eggs and chicks.  There were a couple of Skuas hanging around the Gentoo penguin colonies.  You can smell the penguin colonies when you are downwind from them, and it isn’t exactly pleasant.  But it’s not nearly as bad as being downwind from a pig farm.  Amongst all the Gentoo penguins was one Adélie penguins who apparently took a wrong turn somewhere on his commute.

The weather turned out glorious for us today.  The scenery of mountains covered by glaciers reaching all the way to the water is so unique it is hardly believable when you look at it with your own eyes.  It is entirely unlike anything else we have seen anywhere else in the world including Alaska.  

After returning to the ship, we eagerly grabbed lunch and naps followed by wandering the ship, workouts, and the daily briefing in the Aula.  

We had dinner in the buffet, which featured venison loins and Arctic char in addition to the usual vast variety of foods.  Late in the afternoon, Ciara and Tom received notification of their being scheduled for a sub dive tomorrow.  That should alleviate a mounting sense of disappointment on Ciara’s part since she was particularly disappointed that their dive had been canceled earlier due to a weight balance issue.  

Tonight the ship will be moving from the Anvers Island area to the South Shetland Islands as the ship begins its northbound return to Ushuaia.  This will take us back into open waters.  We could certainly feel the ocean swells as the ship left the shelter of Anvers and Brabant Islands.  We have an early start tomorrow at Half Moon Island with a 6AM Zodiac landing and 9:45AM SOB cruise.