March 10, 2008 - Antarctic anchoring techniques
by Kate Laird

We are anchored and tied back in a lagoon entirely protected by low rocky shores. Once again at the mouth of the Lemaire Channel, where we had such spectacularly beautiful days coming out. It is an exhilarating return across the open bay to the high mountains in fine weather, facing cold breezes falling off the high ice fields. As we come in, schools of gentoo penguins flash in the sunlight, porpoising through the water on their way in and out of land.

Anchoring and tying lines ashore we once called the "Chinese Fire Drill" but it now runs as smooth as silk. Ron, Tony, and Hamish jump into the deployed zodiac and scout the shores for projecting rocks, over which they throw wire "rock strops." Suitable rocks are often scare. They may be up scree slopes beyond the surging tide and requiring avoiding colonies of feisty fur seals, or on rock outcrops protected by diving skuas.

Once the strops are in place, the guys roar back to the boat to grab one of the four possible anchoring lines (port or starboard, aft or forward) running them back to shore to tie with trusty bowline knots to the strops.

Sometimes we also drop an anchor, a precision technique that Kate and Hamish have down pat. Those of us on board have picked up our various roles of laying the retraining lines on deck, winching them in as needed, but it's really the drill team that makes it all happen.

In anchorages that are unfamiliar, Hamish takes the wheel while Ron and Tony head off in the dinghy with a depth sounder that looks rather like a flashlight. Via VHF they transmit soundings ahead as Seal slowly moves forward. Seal has both a lifting keel and a lifting rudder so we have been able to slip into places impossible for other yachts, Lagoon Island being a prime example. This is not to say we have not bumped on occasion, but Seal is built for such possibilities, and it has been reassuring to know that she is able to take it without serious damage.

There is a super realism like computer fantasy art about the view when there is sunlight, more so in bright sun. Partly it is the exaggerated wildness and sharp edges of the mountains; partly the limited forepart contrasting pallet of sheer white snow, near black rocks, subtle colorings of ice cliffs and cracks, and the shifting blue green gray sea and finally the extreme clarity of the air. But tonight the cloud thickens and visibility recedes once again. (posted by guests Pam and Roger.)

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