Captain Jonathan Mercer Feb. 5-7, 2012 Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012: The day opens with more blustery weather and once again I am grateful for having used 2 anchors, their combined weight, with cable is about 40 tonnes and she has held like glue for our stay. The area we are in is a ‘weather machine’;… read more of “Around the World…”
Feb. 3-4 Friday, Feb. 3 continued: We sail at 1445, a strong wind is pinning us to the pier, (as opposed to blowing us off when we arrived). It takes a minute to adjust the azipod and the bow thrust so that she lifts off evenly, rather than ‘waggles’. The 1st officer is calling out… read more of “Around the World…”
Captain Jonathan Mercer February 1-3, 2012 Wednesday, Feb. 1: 4 a.m. and having drifted for the night, we increase speed to rendezvous with the scientists from Palmer station, the U.S. polar base. 0600 and we are off Laggard Island. The zodiac from Palmer, with 7 scientists on board, comes out to greet us. They climb… read more of “Around the World…”
Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2012 4 a.m. It is already light and has been for over an hour, there is hardly any dark period down here. We are in the Gerlache Strait, ice-covered peaks on either side of us, towering over us. A spectacular sunrise, it is worth being awake just for the opportunity to see… read more of “Around the World…”
Monday, Jan. 30, 2012 Up on the Bridge at 4 a.m., the fog has come in again. Elephant Island lies some 50 miles to our south and we are at reduced speed, the chances of ice have increased as of now. The baleful moan of the whistle continues, it must be getting tired by now…. read more of “Captain’s…”
During the past weeks, I have been approached by numerous guests, all asking the same question, ‘will we get into the Falklands’? It seems that previously, on every occasion they have tried, the call has been canceled, usually due to weather. Even some of our guests who are regular Grand World voyagers have missed it,… read more of “Around the World…”
Captain Jonathan Mercer Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012: A long night. We left Buenos Aires on schedule, in windy weather. Friso took her out of the confined harbour, quite a complicated maneuver. The wind was picking up when we left and it continued to increase as we transited the buoyed channel. With the wind and having… read more of “Around the World…”
Jan. 24, 2012 – Buenos Aires, Argentina Karen arrived yesterday, so we attended one of tours in the evening, ‘Dinner and Tango.’ The last one I saw was 10 years ago and wow, has it improved, very professional, good choreography and excellent dancers.
Captain Jonathan Mercer Jan. 23-24, 2012, Buenos Aires, Argentina As expected, the phone rang at 2 a.m. and up to the bridge. The river is well-bouyed, however it is relatively shallow, so ‘speed’ was a factor, (remember my earlier post about ‘squat’? Well, here it affects us too). The channel has an over-abundance of isolated… read more of “Around the World…”
Jan. 19, 2012, Rio de Janeiro Early morning and arrival Rio de Janeiro. After making a cup of coffee in the pantry near my cabin, I walk to the Bridge. The first item I noted was that it was so humid that window wipers were going! The condensation on the glass, caused by the cool… read more of “Around the World…”
