March 7, 2008 - Seal's Antarctic Expedition: Crystal Sound
by Kate Laird

Expecting a long day of motoring against the north wind, we left Lagoon Island at seven am to make our way through the Gullet and on into Crystal Sound. Readers may be interested in the some of the practical issues surrounding our trip, so here are a few details.

A yacht coming to Antarctica should be self-sufficient, carrying enough food, fuel and water for the trip. There are no supply sources in Antarctica. They must also have enough spare parts and resources to handle the inevitable breakages. Other than another yacht, there is no one available to help in the case of a breakdown. Some charter yachts have lifting keels to enable them to extract themselves in the event of a grounding. A lifting keel also allows anchoring in shallow waters that prevent nighttime attacks from icebergs.

Seal carries 1850 litres of diesel and 1500 litres of water, enough for eight people for a 30+ day voyage. We had a good sail south across the Drake passage, but since then the winds, though for the most part favorable, have been light and we have had to motor a great deal. The wind is still from the north and if there is no change in the next couple of weeks, we will be testing the limits of our fuel capacity.

Although yachts have to be self sufficient, there is some back up in the event of a major medical emergency. Cruise ships always have a doctor on board, although at this time of year there are few if any cruise ships on the peninsula.

Seal is careful to minimize any environmental impact. All plastic, metal, glass, and paper rubbish is stored for disposal when we get back to Ushuaia. All biodegradable rubbish is stored for disposal at sea when we are crossing the Drake Passage. We clean and disinfect our boots each time we return to the boat, so as to avoid transferring any contamination from one site to another.

Returning to our passage, the day was long and cold, with heavy snow and strong headwinds for much of the time. We had a relatively easy passage through the gullet, which thankfully avoided a 140-mile passage around the outside of Adelaide Island. The wind stayed north the entire time. Motoring all day. Not much fun - especially as we had to constantly avoid icebergs and brash ice. There are no good stopping places north of the Gullet so we continued on until nightfall and then lay ahull until dawn. Thankfully there was little ice around us and the wind had dropped to ten to fifteen knots. We passed many large icebergs, but drifted past them without having to start up the motor and avoid them. We drifted back south across the Antarctic Circle again in the night - about eight miles. (posted by guest Tony)

For more about Seal see http://www.expeditionsail.com.