Antarctica (Not the Peninsula)

[lamadriver]

Originally Posted by Tillsbury

Take a big holding tank. No discharge whatsoever south of 60S

not correct

[lamadriver]

Originally Posted by SVTwilight

The euphemism for the Peninsula is the “banana belt”. Even there few landing spots are available on the mainland due to the 100-300 ft walls of ice.
.

id use the euphemism " Bus Run"

LD

[Sylph VI]

Speak with Ben Tucker, SY Snow Petrel. Snowpetrelsailing.blogspot.com

[MikadoII]

I am intrigued that fatherchronica packed some clothes and a handgun to go and rescue his father. Maybe he felt he might have to "put him down" if things were too crook. Here in Australia we would probably take a first aid kit.

On Antarctica, we went on an "expedition" with National Geographic down the Peninsula to a bit past Port Lockroy which was fantastic. The only chilly bit was the brave souls who took the "Polar plunge" in their bikinis.

[RUSTYNAIL]

I remember being on an icebreaker, we left Littleton Harbor New Zealand, Christmas Eve, on a 269 ft. ship. A few days out, heading south, we made it to the Roaring 40's. We ran into seas like a giant washing machine. It was the worst weather I'd ever seen. It felt like we were walking on the bulkheads. Sometimes the propellers would come out of the water, and the electric motors would overspeed.Whoever goes down to Antarctica, better have a vessel built for super rough weather.

[Tillsbury]

Originally Posted by RUSTYNAIL

I remember being on an icebreaker, we left Littleton Harbor New Zealand, Christmas Eve, on a 269 ft. ship. A few days out, heading south, we made it to the Roaring 40's. We ran into seas like a giant washing machine. It was the worst weather I'd ever seen. It felt like we were walking on the bulkheads. Sometimes the propellers would come out of the water, and the electric motors would overspeed.Whoever goes down to Antarctica, better have a vessel built for super rough weather.

Lyttelton is already in the Roaring Forties. That’s the Furious Fifties and the Screaming Sixties you’re talking about I think...

[barryglewis]

Took 47ft steel yawl Riquita to Ross sea 1986,. Departed Sydney and Stopped at Maquarie isle on way down, thence Cape Addair then Cape Hallet. Maquarie isle anchorages v poor holding. Cape Adair ice came in and out of bay very quickly. Cape Hallet did not anchor.
One of my crew, Pete Gill wrote an article in an Aussie yacht mag at the time. He also went back the following year on the 60+ft schooner Explorer formaly thr Dick Smith Explorer, and they stayed Cape Hallet a month. He does whale research in Victoria. I can pm you his contact details or try googling him.
Youwill need permission from i think the Antarctic division. You will need to prepare an environmental impact statement.
David Lewis took Solo to Cape Adair and the Balleny isles in 1979 see Voyage to Ice, and wintered over near Casey in the Dick Smith Explorer in 1982-3 see Ice Bound in Antarctica.
Back then no permission needed.
More Recently a cat went down to Commonwealth bay from Tasmania i think late 1990s?
Barry Lewis
Risky Business Currently in Malta

[Marathon1150]

We lived in Lyttleton, NZ for three years. This is the port where Scott, Shackleton and others prepared their ships for voyages to Antarctica. Nearby Christchurch airport is still the land base for US expeditionary air travel to Antarctica. Even sailing around the Banks Penninsula can be pretty hairy and further south it is particularly nasty. But, presumably anybody contemplating a voyage to Antarctica knows this. One further point however, that is perhaps less well known, is that permission is normally required for citizens of certain countries to land in Antarctica and it must be sought before arriving.

"No single government controls Antarctica, so visitors do not need visas to go there. But with the ratification of the Antarctic Treaty's Protocol on Environmental Protection in 1998, all visitors who are citizens of countries that are signatories of the Antarctic Treaty must have a permit to visit Antarctica."

There were several sailboats in Lyttleton that had been apprehended because of their intent to sail to Antarctica without a permit. Further, NZ has rules about leaving the country in terms of boat preparation and they are quite serious about rules, leaving little room for flexibility.

Our dock neighbour in Papeete has circumnavigated Antarctica in his Garcia 50. This is one of the most serious sailboats that I have ever seen, other than the French research vessel (also a sailboat) that called into Lyttleton on its way back from Antarctica. Both show signs of being seriously beaten up. Our neighbour has also climbed Mt. Everest and is now preparing the boat for the Northwest Passage. His boat seems to be built for this kind of thing but I know that I am not. I'll stick to a paid berth on something bigger if and when I go to Antarctica - something that I would very much like to do. My employer in NZ had "ice privileges" in Antarctica, meaning that we could land a certain number of people per year for research purposes. Those of my colleagues who went there loved going back.

[RUSTYNAIL]

Big grin,
Thanks for correcting the latitude error. I was an engineer, mainly keeping the propellers turning, lights on, and hardly knew if I was going north or south, most of the time. I forgot to mention that being in Antarctica, is one of the favorite chapters in my Coast Guard career. New Zealand had the most hospitable people people I'd ever seen in my world travels.
Greg

[SailOar]

James Baldwin interviewed Trevor Robertson about his solo voyage and solo winter-over to the Antarctic Peninsula in his gaff-rigged sailboat IRON BARK. Trevor sailed as far south along the Antarctic Peninsula as he could before being blocked by pack ice. The interview touched on the difficulties of finding secure anchor locations, because icebergs scoured the seafloor down to bedrock.

THE ICE MAN OF IRON BARK, By James Baldwin

From Trevor's blog:

Iron Bark in Antarctica, summer

Iron Bark in Antarctica, winter

OVERWINTERING IN THE ICE IN A SMALL VESSEL

[Breaking Waves]

Regarding - Antarctica, Not the Peninsula, from OZ or NZ . . . . The Ross archipelago would be a destination - McMurdo Station, Horseshoe bay, new harbor and a couple of other spots.

I was there on an 'ice-capable' (not ice-class but strengthened) 100'er. The owners loved to be able to say they had been there, but I can't say I personally found it that interesting - would much rather spend time around S. Georgia.

[barryglewis]

Re Riquita -post 37.
We were advised to change our diesel fuel to kerosene when temperatures were close to 0°C. Fuel sold in Australia thencontained what was described as wax which solidified in the cold. This was a problem the Dick Smith Explorer had suffered from.

We carried a lot of emergency water in 20 l containers on deck. These came in handy when our main water tank froze solid! We would thaw out the frozen containrrs from the deck one at a time as we needed them.
On the way out we had ice floating around in the tank as it melted, which chipped away whatever coating had been applied to the inside of the tank. The banging was a bit horrifying.

Near Cape Adair, and further south, the compass was useless and we made a simple sun compass which worked well apartfrom 3 days of complete overcast as we made gor Cape Adair. Landfall was 45 mile off, not too bad.
With limited funds i had made the call to replace the single spreader wooden mast with a heavy aluminium section mast, rigging it with double spreaders. The money that went on this meant we couldnt afford a satellite navigation system.
Not a major problem , by the end of a week, all the crew (5 of us) were taking adequate sights, which we reduced using a "navigation computer "
We were late getting away and left Sydney v end of December.
We were the last vessel to leave the Ross sea that year, we were told by an NZ cleanup crew at the then closed Cape Hallet base.
We were also told about the private expedition vessel, the ice strengthened Southern Quest, which had been crushed and sunk near McMurdo sound. Her skipper had 10 years experience with the British Antarctic survey's supply ships.
This now being mid February we called it a day and departed for Hobart.
I remember the weather as being very calm, lots of motoring, interspersed with sudden abrupt changes of weather and visibility. The sea was frequently clear of sea ice, but this would change very quickly. Even lookinh out fom up the mast, ice woild appear v quickly.
I have thought recently that a drone might be a useful tool to get an idea of ice over the horizon.

[SailOar]

The Antarctic Way | Redefining What’s Possible With FPB 78 Yachts

DashewOffshore

Created by award winning filmmaker Simon Lucas, this beautifully filmed and powerful video follows the journey of two Steve Dashew FPB 78 yachts as they cruise the remote and challenging Lemaire Channel in Antarctica. Having been visited by only a few small motor yachts because of its isolated location, lack of fuel, extreme ice, and weather conditions, the crews are rewarded with access to utterly breathtaking scenery and intimate wildlife encounters with whales, seals, penguins and more.

This life changing adventure takes place aboard two of the smallest motor yachts ever to visit Antarctica.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qYd5swCSS4

[Fore and Aft]

Interestingly no one has mentioned this unit yet? I wonder if he has a brother in Fiji at the moment?
Cheers
A Berserk expedition gone wrong

[RUSTYNAIL]

I left for McMurdo Sound from Lyttleton harbor, NZ Christmas Eve 1974 on a 269 ft. Icebreaker with a million gallons of liquids for fuel, ballast and fresh water. Just a few days out we hit the worst seas I'd ever been in. That ship seemed like a cork in a washing machine. Maybe now we have better weather reporting, but I don't think I would want to do that in any small boat. CGC BURTON ISLAND.