Due South!

Gert, Kate, Anna, and icebreaker Natahniel B. Palmer



We’re under way to Antarctica! After two hectic days at the quay of Punta
Arenas, Chile, we left last night (Fri) and sailed through the Strait of
Magellan to the east. Now we’re cruising in the sun in the southern
Atlantic, along the tip of Ushuaia to the south.

The two days in Punta Arenas we’re filled with locating your crates,
checking if everything is there, unpacking and stowing. Prior to the cruise
we had requested a list of stuff from the ships inventory, including
filtration racks, pumps and instruments. All the stuff was put in a big
pile in “our” corner of the lab. Kate worked her way through the pile
and packed everything wave-proof in cabinets and tied instruments to the
benches. The only thing missing were the C14 isotopes that we need for our
photosynthesis measurements. Gert had been working for weeks to make sure
everything was shipped on time, but due to a series of miscommunications
and lazy people the C14 didn’t make it to Chile in time. Since you
can’t really expect a ship with 45 scientists and techs to wait for
several days, normally this means this the end of that part of research.
However, we’re in the unique situation that a Swedish ship will follow us
in two weeks. Since some of the scientists will transfer from our boat to
the other ship, we will have a ‘rendez vous’ on the Antarctic ice.
That’ll be a chance for us to get our C14, and for another guy to get the
filters that disappeared from a broken crate. Pretty handy, such a back-up!


Of course we needed to taste our freedom for the last time in Punta Arenas!
So we enjoyed the last fresh food, beer and Pisco Sour. And, for good
luck, you should rub the foot of the statue of Magellan in Punta Arenas. Or
kiss it, the legend isn’t exactly clear on that. Just to be sure Kate and
I did both. It didn’t help us to get our isotopes in time, but hopefully
the rest of the trip will be smooth!