A Great Adventure Begins
Well, the great adventure has begun – after a long and frustrating series of delayed and rescheduled flights from Perth W.A. to Queenstown N.Z. (thanks Qantas), with a huge amount of gear – I’ve made it aboard the Scenic Eclipse II. This is a new and remarkable experience for me – travelling as a Guest Scientist aboard an ultra-luxury cruise ship to East Antarctica. My objective – as part of a VR project for the Mawson’s Huts Foundation – to undertake a thorough photogrammetric survey of Mawson’s Huts at Cape Denison. Of course, this is all contingent on the ‘A’ Factor (the Antarctic Factor), of which we anticipate a good introduction in the next few days as we embark from Bluff at the southernmost tip of New Zealand’s South Island, towards the Southern Ocean.
https://eclipsetravel.com.au/package/25-day-scenic-eclipse-mawsons-antarctica-along-the-east-coast/
The latest marine forecasts from the WMO’s METAREA XIV paint a characteristically vigorous picture of what awaits us. As we depart tomorrow, we’ll be heading directly into active gale warnings with westerly winds of 30+ knots and heavy westerly to southwesterly swell – classic conditions for the aptly named “Roaring Forties” and “Furious Fifties.” We’re looking at significant wave heights of around 6 meters, with individual waves potentially reaching 12 meters – a humbling reminder of the raw power of the Southern Ocean. Multiple low-pressure systems are tracking across our intended route, with a significant low centered near 65°S currently generating exactly the kind of conditions that remind you why these waters command such respect among mariners.
Fortunately, the Scenic Eclipse II is a Polar Class 6 vessel specifically engineered for these waters, with oversized stabilizers and ice-strengthened hull designed to handle everything the Southern Ocean can throw at us. Over the next week, we’ll cross approximately 2,500 nautical miles of open ocean before reaching the Antarctic Convergence and eventually the Balleny Islands – our gateway to the rarely-visited East Antarctic coast.
The weather may be challenging, but it’s all part of following in Mawson’s footsteps. Stay tuned for updates from the ice!
