3/14/2016
Kevin’s Log – Supplemental – 7:52 AM.
The Ocean Notes newsletter posted each day around the ship always lists a Russian Word of the Day. Today’s word is otlichno (pronounced ““at-leech-na”) or “excellent.” While I assume this is in reference to everyone’s excellent showing yesterday at braving the elements and running in Maxwell Bay, I can’t help but think how delighted I’d be to see “Bill and Ted’s Otlichno Adventure” onboard today.
It’s a later start today, a reward for the physical exertion of the race. Last night though, with the weather ever deteriorating and the winds only increasing, the seas were rough – no wonder they called the race and recalled everyone to the ship. As it was, they closed all of the outside decks, the upper ones due to slippery conditions from frozen snow and the lower ones due to swells washing over the deck and proving to be a dangerous man overboard possibility. As the ship rocked, the decks seemed to rise and fall 45 degrees, with me stumbling about and always having one hand for the ship to balance myself and try and right myself perpendicular to my notion of a flat ground relative to the pitch of the ship. It was a surreal series of very sailor-y moments.
I never sleep that well after a marathon – whether it’s excess adrenaline working its way through my body or just over-exhaustion. I’m tired but not sleepy. After trying to quickly recap the day’s events last
night, I then read a few chapters of my book before trying to turn in. The swaying of the boat had me concerned about securing everything in the cabin once again but I must have done a better job. The sea felt as rough as the Drake Passage but this time no flying binders or laptops hit my face.
They’ve just announced the wake-up call at 8 AM. Apparently, on the port side is Trinity Island, our destination for today and the sight of our Zodiac excursion cruises. The winds have picked up a bit though – they’re 30 knots and from the West. The barometer has risen to 9.80 which I *think* means there’s less chance of rain… but I’ve never fully understood barometric pressure readings. That’s something I would google if I had internet access. Now I’ll probably forget I need to do that until the next time says something to me about the barometer and I’ll think, “THAT’s what I meant to google!” The outside temperature is 0 degrees Celsius and the water temperature is 1 degree. It’s going to be a chilly morning on the seas cruising about but I look forward to the adventure. My one wish is that I could use a couple of miles of walking to help speed recovery from the marathon but I’m unwilling to face the ship’s treadmill at the moment.
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Kevin’s Log Supplemental – 2:26 PM
Our first zodiac cruise through the ice happened this morning. We are in Cierva Cove and glaciers, icebergs, and the occasional wildlife surround us in the calmer waters of this secluded part of the world. It’s jawdroppingly pretty, with shades of ice indicating the levels of oxygen trapped inside. Photos will not do this justice but I still snapped away. I’ve tried whittling it down to a more manageable highlight reel but there still will be too many. Nonetheless, here goes:
Having returned to the ship after a “shortened” excursion of only an hour, I’ve learned a few valuable lessons:
- Meg and I should sit on opposite sides of the zodiac so we can snap shots of each other and trade later.
- I need to wear at least two pairs of socks – my feet were quite cold but part of that was due to the rubber boots still being soaked from yesterday’s mad dash “rescue” from the marathon finish.
- The GoPro knockoff from China takes decent but far from perfect shots. I do occasionally like the funky fish eye anamorphic lens effect.
- Sometimes it’s best to NOT ask people to snap a photo for you – you wind up with shots like this:
- On the other hand, sometimes it does behoove you to ask someone to snap a photo for you. Here’s one Meg snapped of me:
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Runner’s Log – Supplemental – 9:14 PM
The awards ceremony for the 17th running of the Antarctica Marathon was held on the Ioffe this evening at 6 PM. We had just gotten back from D’Hainaut Point. After a quick check in at the bar, Thom had just gotten aboard from the Vavilov as the advance man for his crew of runners. He told us to head to the dining room to stake out our tables so our visitors would be Standing Room Only. Due to the cold and the slippery deck, it was already decided to forgo the bbq and instead have the Vavilov racers zodiac over for the awards ceremony and then head back to their own ship while we enjoyed our own dinner amongst ourselves.
The big surprise for me was that I apparently placed 2nd in my age group (the open field to age 39). I was incredulous and said as much as I was called up. I couldn’t believe all the other guys who had passed me on the course hadn’t run faster… I was self-deprecating as I was legitimately humbled to be included in such fast company.
The two days of running couldn’t have had more opposite weather conditions. The Saturday runners had sunshine and decent winds with the course kept open to ensure all the runners finished; we had rain, sleet, winds, and eventually had to evacuate the site, leaving behind ATVs that our ship will have to pick up on our way back to Ushuaia. We had a number of runners pulled from the course and then assigned a half marathon time finish. And yet our ship won the bar bet over which team would have the top 5 finisher times average. Indeed, we had A LOT of placers in the overall and age group awards and dominated the women’s field. It was quite a thing to behold.
After the marathon proper awards, Thom acknowledged the 17 people who had finished their seventh continent and were therefore fully vested members of the Seven Continents Club. I was amongst that group and grabbed two “selfies” for posterity.
They then had any award winners head to the stern of the ship for official photos snapped with the banner hung and the Vavilov off the starboard bow.
Meg bought us a bottle of house red wine to celebrate and it was a delightful cap to a helluva an adventure.
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Kevin’s Log Supplemental – 9:27 PM
The afternoon excursion was a quick zodiac ride on calm waters over to D’Hainaut Point (pronounced “Dunno” Point) in Mikkelsen Harbor. The harbor is named after the first woman to set foot on Antarctica, a feat that happened in the 1930s. Here we encountered an active Gentoo Penguin colony and fur seals lounging about the polar ice and rocks. It was a stunning display of pristine nature and its native wildlife. Words again fail me so I rely on pictures to tell thousands of words. Sadly, the pictures can’t do the scenes justice but hopefully in some small way they’ll convey the majesty and tranquility and epicness of the site.
As a quick finish to this day, we had dinner after the Vavilov left and Michelle, our hopefully future kayak guide tomorrow, sat down with us as we were getting ready to leave. Our other tablemates vacated and Meg and I didn’t want to abandon the woman as she had just sat down… and I’m so glad we stayed chatting with her. When we found out she was a kayak guide in New Zealand for Outward Bound, Meg mentioned her college roommate was in NZ for just such a thing. As a shot in the dark I asked if Michelle knew “Squirrel” as Meg’s friend preferred to be called. She not only knew Squirrel, she’s one of her best friends. It’s a small world after all. I’ll make sure to grab a photo of Meg and Michelle to send to Squirrel before the trip is done as I would imagine she will be just as amazed at the less than three degrees of separation that exists even here, where Latitude loses all meaning and time and space converge into the vanishing point of the South Pole.
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Kevin’s Log – Supplemental – Post Script
Here’s a shot of Meg and Michelle on a Kayak Paddle, March 15, 2016:
