We are steaming home…it’s a bittersweet time.

Adios Antarctica

Well, the day finally came! 

We are steaming home. 

While the crew were eating my final brekkie (yay!) I went out to the back of the boat and watched the sun set on Antarctica. The sun was almost warm. It felt so comfortable and peaceful on the stern. I shed a bittersweet tear as the sky melted into the most vivid cast of pastels.

This beautiful place has crawled deep into my heart. The colours. The magic. The inquisitive wildlife. The raw, frozen beauty everywhere. My heart is full. I will carry Antarctica with me for the rest of my life. 

With Antarctica fading into the distance, it’s time to look ahead to our time in Tasmania. And thus began shopping and scheming!!! We are certainly excited for our time in Australia, both seeing Tom’s dad, Richard, and Bev plus we get to bum around with some friends in Queensland. 

Digging Deep

This last little bit is certainly the hardest though. The ingredients are low. Crew morale is waning and the cleaning is beginning. We’re having to dig a bit deeper now to push through this last bit without wanting to give up. We will. We’re tough. But it’s not without its pain. 

Plus, as we cross the Southern Ocean towards Tasmania, the boat no longer has it’s stability tanks and we’ve dumped all of our offal (the fish and food that has gone through the hasher) so the boat is wallowing and making for a much more uncomfortable crossing than when we journeyed southward four months ago. This is very tiring to an already exhausted crew.

The dishwasher that errors out multiple times before proceeding. The refrigerator door that doesn’t stay open but, because the other one won’t keep a low enough temp, we are forced to use, the slippery floor with little traction and drains in the wrong place, partial lee boards on the bunks….all these little annoyances that we’ve lived with are starting to pull the curse words out of us now!

And the guys not cleaning up after themselves. That always gets worse during gentleman’s hours and this time is no exception. Not closing doors properly so the contents distribute themselves wildly across the mess, using the food scrap bin that gets dumped in the ocean as a rubbish bin (a very big pet peeve of mine!), and leaving dirty dishes all over for me (crew mom) to clean up. It’s too late to complain with only days left.

Well, that’s enough whining and winging for now. 

Aurora-licious

On the positive side, though the icebergs are now gone and there’s nothing to see but a great expanse of ocean, if the sky is clear enough overnight, the aurora is always on. I love to stand outside and marvel at it and take way too many bad photos!

Nate said the other day that he doesn’t know what the big deal about the aurora is. I find that really sad. It’s one of the most spectacular natural phenomena this world has on offer and he can’t be bothered. Where are you in life when you can’t appreciate that you are being blessed to experience something like this? 

Land Adjustment

Well, six more days until we reach land.

I’ve been told it’s a bit of a shock to the system. I’m pretty easy going and tend to handle change pretty well so it will be interesting to see how I react. I’ve been told you really, really smell land, that people are overwhelming (we’ve been with only 23 others for the last 4 months), and that there’s a sensory overload. I guess the grocery store is the first place that can do that! 

Sights, smells, sounds, stressed people and busyness. 

I’m very curious to see how I deal with it.

Now, it’s time to start thinking about packing. It really feels surreal. It’s been groundhog day for so long that it’s hard to imagine life any other way.  It’s almost like a form of shock. I don’t think I’ll quite fathom what happened until a little while down the road. It still seems like a dream…well, it’s still a little bit of reality!

Tick…Tock

We’re counting the days, the meals, the seconds we have left.

Luckily we’re arriving a day earlier than anticipated. One less day to sleep in an uncomfortable bed. One less day of having to make meals and clean up after other people. And closer to a Vietnamese meal cooked with fresh veggies and herbs!

Some blessings we are looking forward to on land – a nice haircut for Amy, tattoos for both of us, estrogen pills to calm Amy’s power surges, and our new toy…a drone that shouldn’t crash into the ocean like the DJI crap we’ve been battling. Yay!!!

Two days out and now there’s a bit more of a buzz around the boat. We are all cleaning and packing, filling out customs forms, the bridge has booked the pilot, and doing all the things to get us back to land. It’s very exciting!

Job Done!

We will finish cleaning the galley today and then other than the last meals, that’s us! Job done…well, I have a few more days left in port but Tom gets to put his feet up since he’s not allowed to work in Australia on an Australian battleship

We arrived early! We see Tasmania!

Tonight the sun is setting on a jagged horizon marked with peaks and valleys and little satellite islands. So we lurk. We will both wake up early tomorrow morning so the boys can have a good brekkie before coming into port. This will be Tom’s last meal. Lucky bugger! 

We have put the finishing touches on our bags. I have left some bits and pieces behind for my last few days on the boat while unloading is happening.  (I’ll deeply wish I hadn’t)

Hello Hobart

This morning as we started to approach Hobart, we had a welcoming crew and a rowdy one at that. Dolphins! Always a welcome sight and I couldn’t get enough of them. They were jumping completely out of the waves. They seemed just as happy for us to arrive as we were!

The shafts of sunrise through clouds was gorgeous along the Tasmanian coast as we made our way up Storm Bay into the guts of Hobart. As long as the wind was right, instead of smelling the smoke stacks, you could sniff an earthy eucalyptus smell on the breeze. Bliss! 

We passed the Iron Pot Lighthouse, many oyster farms, and a sailing regatta as we made our way to the dock. Once docked, our luggage in place for a quick retreat, we waited for customs to check us in to the country and bio security to go through the galley. 

After all that was complete, we made a hasty retreat. Unfortunately, Richard, Tom’s dad didn’t get our email asking to pick us up. We waited outside the security gate for a while before Tom went off in search of internet. His search turned into buying roaming minutes which didn’t work and then a taxi to take us to the house. 

The excitement of reuniting father and son turned into multiple bottles of wine. Needless to say, Tom woke up with quite the hangover. Annoyed but not surprised, I, not having indulged and keen to explore, went for an early morning walk to check out the area while he slept off the night before.

The post The Steam Home From Antarctica | East Antarctica To Hobart, Australia first appeared on Sailing Kaihanu.

Having a whale of a time! 

New Whale Species

In the last couple days I’ve had the immense pleasure of adding a couple whale species to the list of whales I’ve observed. It’s very exciting! 

My first Antarctic Minke spotting was right next to the boat. I actually thought it was a dolphin because it looked and behaved like a dolphin being small and quick. Luckily I got a cool photo which confirmed that it was, in fact, a Minke whale. What luck!

We’ve also been seeing humpbacks…even caught a far off glimpse of one breaching! Upon reviewing the photos, it also appears that the humpbacks have calves. Bless! 

Then one morning I saw a big version of a Minke which turned out to be either a Sei or Bryde’s whale. Apparently they are basically indistinguishable from a distance. You only know once you count its throat grooves or ridges between nose and blowhole! Nevertheless, awesome to spot!

Trouble On The Horizon

But uh oh…trouble loomed. Connor, on the bridge, spotted a pod of orcas. This could be a game changer for the Antarctic Aurora’s fishing mission :/

There are three different kinds of orcas and if it’s the wrong species (the fish eating species), we might have to go home early.

Apparently, being such an intelligent predator, they will follow the boat even to 100nm in order to feed off the sushi train! And when they feed, unlike a sperm whale that will only take a few fish, the orcas strip the line! So it’s not worth the fuel or effort to fish with them around :/

Though I love seeing orcas, I’ll wait for another day! Perhaps on the steam home [Fast forward…the orcas didn’t follow us so we escaped this time!]

Frannie Quit!

And if there’s nothing happening outside, then there’s something happening inside. Today Frannie quit!

For reasons unknown at the moment, Fran gave his notice. He’s not sure what he’s going to do next but it won’t be working for Australia Longline! He’d like to sail the world but his wife isn’t particularly interested. It will be neat to see what the future holds for this kind, lovable character. 

Venus Up To Its Tricks Again

On another cool Antarctica note, we experienced another special polar treat. We got to see the moon with Venus as its companion.

It’s a rare day to see the night sky here. It’s usually overcast so this was a beautiful treat to behold.

This morning Venus is playing games. Today it’s low on the horizon and shifting between red and white. At first we thought it was a boat…again!!  

The Aurora Spotting Auroras

And on a second cool Antarctica note, I finally got to spot the Aurora Australis. That was a long time coming!

It seems to cloud up at night but this night, the clouds were slow to fill in and I noticed. I’m always paying attention. Plus most of my shift is at night these days so it’s easy to keep an eye out.

So I snuck up to the deck, even before the sunset completely dimmed (this takes hours), and immediately heard the sound of whales below me.

What an amazing surprise!

Then I looked up at the sunset lit horizon and further up was the aurora. Are you kidding me?

If this isn’t absolutely magical, I don’t know what is! So out the camera came.

I suppose this is the reward for working at night!

Plus we’ve also had a full moon which is quite big and rusty coloured on the horizon. Simply stunning night sky!

The Countdown Is On

We continue to see whales (mostly Tom because now I’m sleeping when it’s light and working in the darkness) nearly every day and get graced with the odd snow shower which reminds me of home. 

We now only have about 10 more days of fishing left before we head back to Tassie. Not long now! The countdown is on.

Soon we will be doing stock take and doing a deep clean to get the boat ready for the next crew. No rest for the weary and wicked!

In the meantime, the sunsets and sunrises continue to take our breath away. 

The post Whales And The Magical Antarctic Night Sky | East Antarctica first appeared on Sailing Kaihanu.

Box 2 – Bring it on!

Ice Ho!

Box 2…we have arrived and it has not disappointed!

Almost like magic, the icebergs showed up and you can make out land on the horizon. And by land, I mean a big, smooth chunk of ice with craggy peaks sticking out of it. Bliss!

I’m excited to spend the next couple weeks here. Oh and we are already seeing heaps of penguins already. Now for the whales to find us

The Evil Engineer

Unfortunately, the start to Box 2 also started with a health and safety meeting. Not bad in and of itself, but the Chief Engineer, Zach, sat too near Lance, our peace lily. Lance became the victim of this sad little man’s pathetic existence and Lance lost a flower spike and about 15 leaves, snapped individually. 

Who does this? And why? And it’s not his plant or his property. WTF!

I was sad I wasn’t there to save Lance, sad that no one else spoke up for Lance in our absence and absolutely spitting mad at Zach once I figured out what had happened.

Tom had his distrust of Zach from the beginning and it turns out to be well founded. He’s a pathetic human being and thankfully the only one onboard that I would say that about! 

Greener Galley

I know it doesn’t seem like a lot…you’re plant being maimed. But somehow, I think having such a small world for three months makes some strange things precious, like the plants Tom got us.

So Lance and Lars are now living in the galley with us so they won’t be vandalized and victimized by another random act of plant violence. 

It’s these little things that can turn big out here. I’m going to be the bigger person but another part of me really wants revenge! No Amy smiles for him!

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Box 1 – Tick!

No More Fishies For Us

Today our allotted quota in Box 1 has been caught and it’s time to move the roughly 560nm to our next fishing hole in Box 2 which is further along the coast of East Antarctica towards White Island and Davis Station. 

I’m super excited to see what beholds us though it looks like we might have to endure a bit of a weather system to start. Thinking positively, that usually brings some beautiful days behind it, which is exactly what we want in order to be able to see the land!!! 

Bring it on!

Morale Waning Continues

Otherwise, crew morale has taken a bit of a hit.

I think we are all starting to feel the grind and a bit of an the itch to finish the trip. The other day Dylan and Junior had a little bit of a tiff, but are swiftly back to being buds again.

The rest of us are tired and you can tell we all have less patience but, on the whole, everyone is holding tough. It hasn’t deteriorated to the point of bringing the boat’s lovely peaceful feeling to an end. Thank goodness!

Change of Scenery

The steam to the far end of Box 2 has been lovely. There is an evil weather system just above us and we are managing to, by chance, avoid the brunt of it.

And there are whales absolutely everywhere. You only have to gaze at the horizon and within 5 minutes you will have spotted at least one, but probably more, whales! 

I feel so privileged to be in this area, in this fragile and pristine corner of the world.  I feel changed and even emboldened. These creatures are thriving here because this is a highly regulated area.

However, they are still very much affected and in danger. Human activity and pollution have reached this far off place. Climate change is leaving it’s mark. My heart breaks for these animals who have had no part in this disaster but have to suffer the consequences. 

Time To Step Up And Save The Wild Places

And I have a small part in their struggle. There are parts that are easier to remedy than others but there is no time like the present to start living in line with my heart and my values.

It’s time to reduce my footprint again now that I’m wiser to the impacts of my actions. 

I am going to start eating vegetarian/pescatarian again, for them and for me. And I am going to become an active and engaged citizen scientist. As much as possible, I will eat locally.

Thankfully I live on a boat so it’s hard to accumulate material goods but I’ve never been too interested in that anyway. It’s the travel that’s the clincher. Our work means that we have to fly. If I want to see my family, I have to fly…or wait years to sail there.

Thankfully traveling by boat does reduce my tourist impact but boat ownership comes at an environmental cost too. Everything does, but it’s time to put on my big girl britches again and live my cleanest possible life…for these beautiful whales and all the creatures that call this little blue ball home. 

So watch this space as I develop my citizen science conservation project, Save The Wild Places.

The post Steam From Box 1 to Box 2 | East Antarctica first appeared on Sailing Kaihanu.

I’m definitely finding this part of the journey to be the most tiring.

Morale Is Waning

The weather and sea have improved significantly! We’ve had a few good storms come through with a max wind speed of 70 knots but mostly sitting around 40-50knots. That’s pretty breezy!

Thank God that’s passed!

Plus a good nights sleep and life is good again. I’m definitely finding this part of the journey to be the most tiring. Perhaps its the non-stop work…though it hardly feels that much like work.

Perhaps it’s the insomnia and hot flashes flaring up again. Whatever it is, I’m dragging and finding it hard to get my pre-steam mojo back. 

Never mind, the experience goes on. 

Times Are Changing

Another part of the experience is that we are getting about 4-5 hours of darkness now. It is occurring from around 5:30am-10:30am ships time. It’s incredible how fast the darkness is extending itself as we approach the first day of autumn on 1 March.

As the darkness increases, so does my excitement about seeing the aurora. I’m hoping to see the aurora but, generally speaking, the sky is overcast here at the South Pole.

***Just a wee update – turns out it’s dark because of the cloud cover. We had a morning with no clouds and though the sun sinks on the horizon, there is still a faint hint of paleness to the horizon for an hour or so before the dawning of the new day begins. Oh and sunrise/sunset lasts for hours!!! I love that! ***

Box 1

Right now we are fishing Box 1. The fishing is finally going pretty well and after a week of not seeing any whales, the streak broke.

Tom got pictures of a sperm whale that was stealing fish off the line. Even sperm whales enjoy the sushi train! And we keep seeing them bumming around the boat again. It’s absolutely wonderful! Makes the fisherman grumble and me grin.

And I’ve grilled Shaun.

Box 1, scenically speaking, is fairly boring. There are some icebergs here and there but nothing like we were promised.

He’s saying Box 2 is close to the land. Ooooo can’t wait for that!

The Truth Comes Out

Also, an update on the Japanese boats. The word on the street is that they are only counting whales this year. They are not taking any so it really is purely research…though disappointingly, one has migrated to the high krill zone…either to count and tag whales there or something with the krill.

Fingers crossed they don’t have their eyes on that now. The krill take is becoming a massive ecological disaster. All for people to have another source of omega-3 fatty acids which they can get from flax and chia seeds. No animals need die and we don’t need to collapse another ecosystem to get your precious omega-3’s!

The post It’s A Grind And I’m Feeling It | East Antarctica first appeared on Sailing Kaihanu.

The rest of the steam to our first research area near Casey Station in East Antarctica was uneventful.

The Light At The End Of Yachtmasters

Tom and I worked through the remainder of RYA Yachtmasters in our downtime and got some life admin jobs done. Yachtmasters is nearly done….FINALLY!

Tom has to pass the last exercise and then the theory will be complete. Wow! What a mountain to climb; however we are at a false summit. Tom lost steam with it and now it’s postponed again. So close!

Whales All Around

We thoroughly enjoyed the steam.

We started seeing pods of whales everywhere nearby the boat but not right next to it. Frannie told me to focus on the horizon and I will see the whales. And, you know what, he was absolutely correct. It took a couple minutes of looking at the horizon and then there they were.

Spouts. Spouts every time I looked at the horizon!

It was so heartening to see whales every time I looked out the porthole. That’s a memory that will stay with me.

Outside of the Japanese whaling boats lurking around, the whales are safe here. Saying that, the new rage is krill fishing so now there are big trawlers stealing their dinner and throwing off the ecological balance in the Antarctic for some stupid human marketing trick. Grrrr!

Icebergs Everywhere

We saw hundreds of icebergs of all shapes and sizes, some glacial, most calved from the ice shelf, and Tangi and OJ even got to see one flip over. They got the dream! 

Future forward, I didn’t see an iceberg flip but I did see it calve off a huge chunk and all of us were on our tippy toes wondering if it was going to flip. Alas, it didn’t, but it certainly got a new waterline!

What Midnight???

The guys on night watch were even getting to take in some sunrises and sunsets that were about four hours apart as we are now in the higher latitudes.

One special day we even woke up to one. It’s special because I’ve found that most days in Antarctica are overcast so a clear sky is a blessing. I’ve now got my fingers crossed for a clear sky at night so I can catch the Aurora Australis. 

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