Travel Notes | The Farthest South – Antarctica (2) – Drake

2018-12

The Drake Strait , which connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, is world-famous for its huge waves. Ocean currents of different water temperatures from the Pacific and Atlantic meet here. Coupled with the monsoons at high latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, anyway The waves are rough all year round, and the winds are howling, causing countless ships to capsize to the bottom of the sea in history. Therefore, the Drake Passage is called " Killer Westerly Belt " , " Storm Corridor " , "Devil's Strait " is a veritable " Corridor of Death " .

The fastest cruise ship can cross the Drake Passage is 29 hours, and usually it takes about 36 hours. This time we were lucky and experienced it fully. The wind and waves were not small during the emergency drill of sailing. After dinner, we took seasickness medicine early and went to bed. After a while, the waves started to roll, and everything on the table fell to the ground, and the cabin Things that were not put away were also running back and forth. Anyway, I was determined not to get up and eat less. After staying in bed for more than 30 hours, I went out and found that the ship was only half way gone. I was very angry and disappointed, so I hurried back to the cabin and continued to lie down.

The front photo was taken by a photographer on board the ship

The waves roared and slapped against the portholes all the way, like entering a drum washing machine, making me doubt my life. Later, the ship broadcast that the wind speed continued to be 55 nautical miles per hour (101.86km/h, 28.29m/s), and the wave height was 10 meters , equivalent to a storm of level 11. This wind can uproot trees and destroy houses. The higher level is a typhoon of level 12

A barf bag hung from the handrail outside the cabin every few steps.

In order to prevent the "speeding" phenomenon from happening , that is, the ship is pushed to the sea surface by the surge, the propeller is exposed out of the water, and the engine is shut down due to overload protection, causing the ship to lose power. The ship can move slowly against the waves. The speed is only 3 knots.

In the end, we wandered for more than three days and spent more than 80 hours passing through the Drake Passage.

The return trip was much better. It only took 36 hours to return to Ushuaia. I missed a lot of lectures on the way back and forth, but that’s for another time.

Let me introduce the icebreaker we took this time:

Shipping company: Albatros Expeditions Group (Albatros Expeditions Group)

Ship name: This time it is called Ocean Atlantic, or Atlanti , maybe it can also be called Ocean Atlantic

Tonnage: 12798 tons

Width: 21 meters

Passengers: 200 people

Speed: 17 knots

Ice level: 1B

Length: 140 meters

Crew: 140 people

Landing rubber boats: 20

Regarding Antarctic cruise cruise options:

Usually, the number of passengers for domestic departures in ordinary class is limited to 200 or 500, which are mainly divided into four types:

(1) A cruise ship that flies from Punta Arenas, Chile, to and from the Drake Strait, and lands in Antarctica, for 100 tourists: avoiding the torture of the Drake Strait, boarding the ship directly from the Antarctic Peninsula, the price starts at 130,000; Reference cruise ships include: Ocean Nova and Ocean Adventures. Because there are so few people, you can cruise and land twice a day on a Zodiac, each time being relatively long.
(2) Passengers Ordinary cruises within 200: price 7 starting; refer to cruises — Ocean Diamond No., Aurora of the Seas. 100 people go on a Zodiac cruise, 100 people log in, and then exchange; one in the morning and one in the afternoon, a total of two landings.
(3) Passengers luxury cruise within 200: most cabins have viewing balconies, the room area is relatively large, the meals are relatively better, and the price Starting from 100,000 , reference cruises include: Ponero Cruises. Same as (2), once in the morning and afternoon, a total of two logins.

(4) Cruise ships with a passenger capacity of less than 500 people: cruising and landing must be separated in the morning and afternoon, the price starts at 40,000, refer to the cruise ship - Midnight Sun; one landing per day.

In addition, cruise ships with more than 500 people to more than 2,000 tourists cannot be disembarked. The price is cheap but the comfort is high. Because the ship is large, it is not so painful when crossing the Drake Passage.

In addition to providing excellent meals, adventures, and entertainment activities, the Viking Theater on the ship holds various popular science lectures every day. This is the place where everyone often goes.

Knotting skills

The expedition team members introduced the Antarctic scientific expedition and popularized knowledge about Antarctica.

Introduction to biodiversity

Daily itinerary.

The expedition team members on the ship all possess unique skills and have extremely high attainments and accumulation of knowledge in their respective fields. Listening to their lectures is indeed very insightful, but the translation of each sentence is too slow, and it is difficult to understand without translation.

It is said that three women perform one drama, and Ms. Li is so versatile that she can do all the work for Hunan TV from He Jiong to Xie Na by herself. It’s amazing!

Gao Shan is the language genius on the ship. He is also very knowledgeable about East Asian relations. See how people learn in school.

Mr. Cao Jianxi is a low-key person. He has worked at the China Polar Research Center for many years. He has participated in Antarctic scientific expeditions and spent winters many times. During the construction of Kunlun Station, he risked his life to drive a snowmobile out of the ice floe area and was awarded second-class merit because of this. It was personal experience, and his lectures were still wonderful.

Before setting off, I had read a book about the construction of the Kunlun Station in Antarctica, and I had a little understanding of their legendary experience as an Antarctic pioneer. I was very lucky to meet someone who had experienced it this time. I actively participated in all his lectures and asked questions. After returning to China, I will After reading the book, I have deep respect for their dedication to the country under difficult and harsh conditions!