Sailing to Antarctica

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Hi Everyone.

Well, here I sit back in the States after finally completing the task that originally made my friend Matthew and I set off in his little sailing boat to New Zealand 2 years ago. In some ways it's the end of a chapter for both of us that was in the back of our heads for nearly 5 years and it seems somewhat surreal to have now completed such an undertaking.

Quite a bit changed since my last blog and thankfully our thoughts were put back onto sailing our own boat down and back which we did. The effort Myself and especially Matt had put into getting his boat ready to sail to Antarctica and then sailing it halfway around the world so we could complete the trip ourselves and then get so close to doing the trip and then go on another boat was a depressing option that would have left us less than satisfied. It would have meant for both of us that a life long goal would be left half complete.

After agreeing to help crew another boat down, We left Ushuaia on our boat and headed back to Puerto Williams. We were due to leave on a boat called Commitment on the 5th of January so we had around 10 days to kill. Our plan was to spend this time sailing around Cape Horn before packing the boat up for winter and mooring it at Puerto Williams. Luckily the day we arrived to Puerto Williams was also the day that 3 expedition boats returned back from Antarctica, with Steve who we had met previously in Valdivia being one of the Captains. That night we had a barbecue with the crew members off the three boats and our thoughts started to change back to taking our own boat. Steve and the Owners of another expedition boat called Ice Bird, after finding out about our change of plans were instrumental in helping us change our decision and take our boat down. Luckily this year was a good year for Icebergs in the Drake Passage, meaning that having just the two of us was more feasible, as we didn't have to worry as much about running into small islands made of Ice. Steve who was taking a group of skiiers down 2 days after we planned to leave had also kindly offered to help us out with the weather on our way down which turned out to be one of the biggest helps anybody gave us. Steve's boat was equipped like a small weather station and Steve has been going down to Antarctica for over ten years so his daily weather reports over the HF radio were priceless to have while trying to Navigate the Drake passage.

After spending the night drinking with a bunch of rowdy sailors, we woke in the morning with the prospect og going ourselves firmly in our minds. All the negatives of taking the boat down with just the two of us had now been put against some enthusiasm from other people and a few great offerings of help. In all reality what we had really been given was a big boost of some much needed morale and it was enough for us to change our decision.

After taking a couple of days to re consider we decided to go for it, so began the task of getting the boat ready. We spent the next week re-stocking the boat with the very limited food available from the three small stores in town, re-fueling the boat which was a two day process of timing the limited opening hours of the villages petrol station to us walking across town with two fuel cans, filling them up and taking them back to the boat, re packing and properly securing the boat for the Drake Passage and doing a bit of general maintenance. We left Puerto Williams on the 29th of December and headed down to Cape Horn to wait for a weather window to cross the Drake Passage. Being a small boat, Polo Flat is designed for stability more than speed and is a slow boat so timing when to leave was critical. Most boats sailing to Antarctica from Cape Horn take around 4 days where as we took 6.

We arrived to ourfirst anchorage situated about 10 miles from Cape Horn on the 30th and spent New Years there. New Years was spent listening to Pink Floyd and drinking a little too much rum, resulting in falling to sleep by 10 at night and waking with rather sore heads. The following days were spent doing very little except for looking at weather forecasts which we could download via satellite phone onto a laptop while we waited for a window to leave. Leaving on the 3rd looked to be our only opportunity so we waited until then and left early that morning.

Leaving the relatively sheltered waters of Patagonia and entering the Drake Passage is like being dropped into a boiling cauldron of mess and confusion. Its unlike any sea I've seen in the world. Generally in most open water the wind blows and depending on the depth of the water you get either short sharp waves due to a shallow depth or large wide waves due to a long depth. And the waves form a consistent series of waves coming from the direction of the wind. In the Drake Passage however you seem to get a confused mess of mainly short sharp waves due to the shallowness. However these waves are like square walls of water that constantly break and can come from all directions. I've never seen a wave go one way and then another wave come at right angles to the first, going straight over the top of it, until I entered the Drake passage and it became common place to see. The wind also blew in gusts from a steady 30 knots, to at times up to 40 knots and during our 6 days we went through 4 different weather systems. There was even a day where we motored for a couple of hours with no wind while we hovered about in the middle of a low pressure system.

We left the first day in a pretty strong 30 knot breeze, however the next morning it was up around 35 knots and the forecast for a couple of days time looked quite grim with a big low pressure system coming up from Antarctica. After looking at what we were faced with we decided to turn around and head back to Cape Horn in the hope we would be able to get time for another window. Luckily after turning around we spoke to Steve who assured us that the low pressure system coming would be OK, so we turned back around and went for it. Once you're over two days in to the crossing, the option to go back is pretty much gone until the weather systems completely change allowing you to sail back to Cape Horn

The next 5 days were spent with each of us taking 4 hour shifts and zig zagging in and out of small low pressure systems. Luckily we didn't have much wind above 35 knots which is the limit that the boats self steering can handle, so the boat did an excellent job of sailing the whole way on its wind vane steering system which requires intermittent adjustments that can be done by reaching out the back hatch. This means that apart from when you have to adjust the sails or pull them down you can spend most of your time in the Cabin, coming up every 10 to 15 minutes to have a good look around for Icebergs. Having said this. Crossing the drake passage was probably the hardest 12 days of my life. Trying to sleep while being bashed in every direction by waves meant that both of us got about 3 hours sleep a day. The temperature was just above freezing inside the boat and keeping the boat sailing at full speed with the prospect of an Iceberg popping up in front of you kept a good level of stress and things to worry about. At one point I had been awake for over 2 days and had began to feel as if I was becoming retarded to the point that making a Coffee seemed like an impossible task. By the time we were half way across night time had also vanished leaving us in perpetual daytime. At about 2 in the morning the sun would hit twilight before rising back into the sky again leaving you in some kind of confused stupor where day and night became non existent.

As bad as all this may sound, in all reality, considering there was only the two of us, we had a pretty straight forward crossing which could have been much harder, and on the sixth day the wind completely died leaving us to motor past Smith Island and on to the Antarctic Peninsula.

Our first anchorage was at Enterprise Island, where we tied off an old whaling ship which had caught fire and been run aground a hundred years ago. Sailing into the Gerlache strait was a moment I will never forget. Standing outside driving the boat along the Antarctic Peninsula was like nothing I have seen or experienced before. I couldn't help but imagine that at any minute we would turn another corner and be met by a party of aliens going about their alien business. In the sea there were penguins swimming everywhere, we were met by Hump back Whales as we first entered the Peninsula that swam in unison around and under the boat for over an hour, at one stage spraying Matt with fishy water from their blow holes. There were huge Icebergs, ranging from the size of small Islands down to fist sized chunks that had to all be carefully navigated around, and the Peninsula stuck out of the ocean as massive mountains of rock and glacier that fell straight into the sea. It is by far the most foreign looking place I've ever seen and besides from going to the moon, possibly the most foreign place I'll ever get to in my life.

We spent the next 3 days anchored at Enterprise Island sleeping, drinking rum, sleeping some more and eating some much needed food, as cooking in the Drake Passage was nearly impossible. From Enterprise Island we Spent a day Sailing down to Gonzalez Videla, A small Chilean navel base and gift shop catering for the cruise ships that went down to the Peninsula.

The station is located on a Penguin Rookery where Gentoo Penguin's come to breed every summer and surrounding the station were literally hundreds of Gentoo Penguins with either eggs that were ready to hatch or small chicks that looked like they were about a week old. When we arrived, Cathy and Darrel from Ice Bird heard us on the radio and were in the area so came and anchored next to us so we could get some more Diesel to go home with.

We spent the night anchored on the south side of the station due to the wind direction which meant being out in the open and getting battered by ice bergs as they blew into our boat. The next morning we woke to a cruise ship sitting out in the channel and the Captain called us up and asked if we would like to come on board for a shower and lunch. We willingly accepted and it was our luck that the same Captain had taken 2 very scared and distraught Argentinian's off a boat a similar size to ours a few years ago and took them back to Argentina.

Due to this he had become a little sympathizing to people in small sailing boats and was more than generous to us. Getting on board a Cruise ship in Antarctica, I can only equate to being like climbing Mount Everest and waking up in a Casino. We went from sitting in a boat where the only space you have is one room that's about 4 meters by 2 meters. To climbing on board a ship where the most expensive cabins sell at 50 000 bucks a trip. Walking around the ship was like being in some sort of resort on water where the back drop is Antarctica. There were people plugged into their note books and tablets, people complaining about their food, waiting staff running around everywhere and a lot of weird looks from people as I walked about unwashed in my shabby cloths and gum boots. After checking out the captains deck we were given a room for a few hours to shower in before going to the staff quarters for lunch. It would have to be the best shower I've ever had in my life and a lunch that wasn't pasta or potatoes was also pretty damn good. The Captain and Chief Engineer were also extremely kind and were trying to give us half the cruise ship to take away with us. We were offered all the Diesel we wanted, given food, wine, beer and offered everything they could think of. We left our little visit feeling quite humbled by the kindness of our hoasts and headed back to our little boat. That after noon the Captain came for a visit of our boat and Matt kindly parted ways with him by giving him a giant bag of our rubbish. Not a bad exchange at all. We left that afternoon for another anchorage further south to spend the night before sailing down to Vernadsky, the Ukranian base where we heard they make their own Vodka and have a Sauna.

We left for Vernadsky early in the morning and had a hard sail down there, in rather windy conditions making a full day of dodging Icebergs a difficult task. We arrived the the Ukranian station tired and worn late that afternoon to find Spirit of Sydney anchored there. Spirit of Sydney was the third boat we met at Puerto Williams and was owned by the same owners as Ice Bird and skippered by two young Australians we had become quite good friends with. After tying up beside their boat we were invited over to Vernadsky for a tour of the station. Entering Vernadsky was like going into a time warp. The station was brought off the English for a token sum of 1 pound in 1996 so the English didn't have to dismantle it and ship it away and it remained in pretty much the same from that day on. The station was clearly kept with much pride as it was in immaculate condition and the Ukrainians who get dropped off every March to spend the whole year down there mostly in complete isolation were quite happy to have some new guests. The station which mainly studies ozone and weather is certainly one of a kind. Walking around, it still has the same 90's pin up posters left by the English and most of the equipment their using is of the same era. It is literally like walking into a fully functioning museum.

After getting a tour of the station we were taken up to the bar which is an old English style bar upstairs looking out across the bay. Here we were given an assortment of Ukrainian food and of course endless homemade Vodka which would have to be some of the best Vodka I've ever drank. Probably not surprising as it was made by a group of scientists who appeared to have plenty of spare time on their hands. By ten that night it would seem that the Ukrainians did a pretty good job of getting everyone very drunk before escorting us to a small room where they could continue to party without waking the people who had to work the next day. We were told we were going to a secret bar which turned out to be the the Chief of the stations office. We spent until the hours of the morning playing music and singing Russian songs while constantly being fed endless shots of vodka until we couldn't take it any more and went back to the boat to pass out. The Next morning we were awoke by the Ukrainians on the radio asking us if we wanted to come for a sauna so back over we went to find the same people still sitting in their little office playing the guitar and drinking shots of Vodka. If stereotypes have some truth to them then Ukrainians drinking excessive amounts of Vodka goes far past the stereotype to just plain truth.

After being forced a few more shots of Vodka we were lead off across a way from the station to a little wooden building containing the sauna. The sauna was an amazing experience to say the least. It was one of the hottest saunas I've ever been in and to cool down you went out side and down some stairs to a platform where you would jump into the ocean and swim among icebergs for a few seconds before hopping back into the sauna. We were also given the full Ukrainian treatment of getting flogged with a branch naked until red raw whilst lying in the sauna. An experience that was actually surprisingly pleasant. After our sauna we were given a hot shower, lunch, more shots of vodka some good luck gifts and 3 of the Ukrainians made their way over to our boat to throw stuff all over the floor as some kind of good luck blessing. Again we finished the day feeling so lucky as to meet such genuine helpful and giving people stuck at the end of the earth.

We had another party on board our boat that night with the crew from Spirit of Sydney before awaking that morning to icebergs closing in on us. The wind had changed and our anchorage was filling with rather large icebergs so we had to make a quick exit before being iced in. After getting out of there, we anchored further out in the bay and slept until night time before taking the weather window for home. We left that night and sailed out through the French passage and back into the Drake Passage for Cape Horn.

The trip home was not quite as kind as the trip down. For six days we had wind from the north meaning we had to sail and motor at full speed the whole way so we could make it across the Passage before the weather changed. Sailing into the wind means that it is extremely rough and the engine running at full speed is like being trapped in a box of inescapable noise making sleeping even harder. I was lucky to get even a couple of hours of sleep a day and every time I did fall asleep I would wake back up in some sort of delirious state where I thought it was my shift and that Mat was asleep in bed. And to make it even more interesting we were hit by 2 rouge waves.

The first wasn't too bad and only knocked us down for a few seconds however the second was a bit more severe. At the time I was standing with my head out the back of the hatch looking at all the mess in the sea and thinking to my self that the conditions were really bad. The next minute I looked across to see a huge wall of water coming towards the boat. I managed to get back down, close the hatch and hang on just before it hit. The wave then hit the side of the boat like a Semi trailer truck twice. The first was when it hit the side of the boat and the second was when it dumped us upside down in the drake passage.

All I remember is seeing a collage of colours as the contents of the entire boat and a lot of water went from one side of the boat to the other. The sink hole turned into a pressure cleaner and some how the contents of the entire kitchen including a chopping knife and pressure cooker all managed to miss my head. Luckily the boat didn't go the whole way over and righted itself within a few seconds back up the same way. And still with its mast. Mat was asleep at the time and woke up to his bed being filled with half the contents of the boat. It looked like a bomb had gone off. There was a mixture of food, water, cans and everything you could think of scattered throughout the entire boat. On the inside the gps had been smashed off its housing, the stereo and hf radio was smashed however most things were still OK and working. On the outside the dodger got ripped off, the solar panels were smashed off the back of the boat and their structure rather bent, the wooden side rail had been smashed off one side of the boat, all the safety gear was torn up and hanging off the side of the boat, the contents of the dash board was gone and the main sail had somehow wrapped itself around the boom several times.

Luckily nothing major was broken and the boat was still floating so we cleaned up as best we could and kept sailing for home. Another stroke of luck was that the wind had changed enough that night and we had shut the engine down preventing it from running upside down causing serious damage. We arrived back to Cape Horn 2 days later and kept on going back to Puerto Williams where we tied up the boat the most exhausted I think I've ever been in my life.

It was most definately the trip of a life time and we had smiles from ear to ear once we got back, however we both conclude that there's no way we'd ever consider going and doing the trip again in a 10 meter boat. However we were very glad we managed to complete the trip ourselves with only one small mishap on the way home.

After a few days recovery, we packed the boat up so Matt could winter it in Puerto Williams while He makes some more money in Australia. He's going to head back next February with his Girlfriend to sail it back to New Zealand. From Puerto Williams caught a lift on another boat back to Ushuaia where we hung for a few days and flew onto Buenos Aries where we parted our ways. I'm now back in the US and quite happy to have a break from anything to do with boats or back packs for quite some time.

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