Drake Passage Crossing

[OnTheJourney]

6 hours ago, bob brown said:

There were occasional cases of sliding objects, and broken dishes, but overall, not so bad.   

 

I know about this...having been on last year's March 14 sailing of the Viking Sky. Your post brought it all back. "Not so bad" doesn't apply though. It was unbelievable. I don't think I'll ever forget the sound of probably hundreds (if not thousands) of breakables crashing to the floor all around the ship. Crossing the Drake was a piece of cake compared to that day off the coast of Hustadvika. 

Edited April 11, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[rkacruiser]

On 4/10/2020 at 9:19 PM, OnTheJourney said:

 

I know about this...having been on last year's March 14 sailing of the Viking Sky. Your post brought it all back. "Not so bad" doesn't apply though. It was unbelievable. I don't think I'll ever forget the sound of probably hundreds (if not thousands) of breakables crashing to the floor all around the ship. Crossing the Drake was a piece of cake compared to that day off the coast of Hustadvika. 

 

Your experience was extremely unsettling for even the most experienced cruisers among us.

 

You were fortunate that this did not turn into a major maritime disaster.  

 

On topic:  the Drake provided a few hours of rough seas for me fellow guests and me on the Zaandam.  But, it would have been worse had the Captain not delayed our crossing from South America to Antarctica.  He put us in the lee of some islands just North of Cape Horn where we spent 18 hours sailing a race track pattern, allowing a storm to pass through Drake Passage.  When we began our crossing, the sea was rough enough as we passed Cape Horn that trying to stand/walk in the Crow's Nest became "an adventure".  That evening looking towards the West as we sailed, the storm clouds were as dark and menacing as any that I have ever seen.  

[OnTheJourney]

You had a great captain with foresight on how to best handle the situation. I don't think I can say the same for the captain of the Sky - at least in the days leading up to the event. While in the midst of it, I think he acted in the best possible way given the circumstances. We were not kept informed nor aware of ANY sort of weather system approaching. 

 

Yes....worst case scenario for us - according to a few maritime experts - was that the anchors wouldn't have held (they didn't initially), ship crashes into the rocks, and could've had as many as a thousand people dead. So, we all thankfully and amazingly surived it only to wind up in a pandemic a year later!!!  At the time I figured very little could come along that could be as bad or worse. Wow, was I ever wrong. 

Edited October 28, 2020 by OnTheJourney

[kaisatsu]

On 1/27/2020 at 10:09 AM, kaisatsu said:

Of my Drake crossings, the only one I tend to talk about was the one when it was a crystal calm "Drake Lake"! The others were choppy, but not worth talking about, since I've experienced worse elsewhere.

Seeing this thread again, I guess it’s time for me to eat crow. My last Drake Crossing was a proper ordeal! Not because the conditions were so unbelievably bad, but instead because conditions had been consistently bad earlier in the trip. We were behind schedule, so we didn’t have the flexibility to plot any course but straight to Ushuaia with a direct crosswind.

 

Since were coming up from Peter I Island, it was a looong crossing, and the first days we’d angle the ship into the wind during meals. By the end we didn’t even have time for that and had to eat meals holding on to each dish at all times. An expedition staffer showed me how to use an overturned bowl and fork wedge to keep our water glasses pinned to the wall so we didn’t have to hold both plate and glass simultaneously!

 

Luckily it was at the end of a month-long rocky trip so everyone had their sea legs and had gotten over their seasickness weeks earlier. However, we did have a fellow passenger fall and break an arm. I’m clumsy even with “one hand for the ship” so I consider myself lucky to only have suffered a few bruises.

[donaldsc]

On 1/25/2020 at 7:58 AM, Donna_In_India said:

We are going to Antarctica at the end of March with our 11 yrs old daughter on a 100 passengers ice breaker. I was wondering about the Drake Passage crossing. Although we've never gotten seasick we'll bring appropriate meds just in case. I know that no one can predict how it's going to be but can you give me any tips about surviving if it's rough. I'm more nervous about huge waves and severe rocking than I am about getting seasick!

 

I have done 3 trips over the Drake Passage.  One of the 3 was normal Drake weather with some waves but basically calm. 

 

The 2nd was a Drake Lake passage going and was fairly calm.  Coming back we had some waves coming back until we got close to Cape Horn where we encountered force 10 gales w 55-63 MPH winds.  I happen to like heavy seas and I never get seasick so I found it to be an interesting experience.  My wife would definitely not agree w me.  There were very few of us at dinner that night.  It was interesting watching the Chilean pilot boat getting the pilot on board the ship.  It took them several hours to accomplish it.

 

The 3d time we were going to South Georgia  instead of Antarctica.  The weather was intense and several ships did not even leave Ushuaia on schedule but waited several days for the seas to calm down.  Our captain managed to work his way around the storm and we got to South Georgia w/o problems and we made almost all of our South Georgia lands.  We did miss one zodiac trip because we encountered ~100 kt (114 mph) winds but the ship handled it w minimal problems.    A zodiac trip in 114 mph winds might have been interesting.

 

I guess what I am saying is even if you have bad seas, you will still have fun and will have something to talk about.  The ship will have plenty of seasick meds on board if you get a bad trip.  Also, you are far better off being outside in the fresh air instead of huddling in your cabin.

 

DON

[rkacruiser]

On 10/28/2020 at 11:26 AM, OnTheJourney said:

You had a great captain with foresight on how to best handle the situation. I don't think I can say the same for the captain of the Sky -

 

Just returned to this thread and saw your post.  Captain Norman surely did a great job in keeping us safe and as "comfortable" as possible during our crossing of the Drake Passage.

 

Wasn't it the Viking Sky that had difficulty off the Norwegian coast awhile ago?  If so, was the ship's Master the same one that was at the helm of your cruise?  

[OnTheJourney]

17 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

was the ship's Master the same one that was at the helm of your cruise?  

You got me on that one. No idea. Often wondered whatever happened to the captain of our sailing. Other than the official interim report (not sure the finalized report has been issued  yet - or else it was and I just haven't seen it), not much else was said about it, which is understandable. Just glad it didn't go as bad as it could have. The events of that Saturday are permanently seared into my mind, as often happens with extreme situations. 

[OnTheJourney]

On 11/3/2020 at 1:46 AM, donaldsc said:

A zodiac trip in 114 mph winds might have been interesting.

Yippee!!!!!  I think the (usually) waterborne craft would have quickly become airborne. 😳

[donaldsc]

Obviously our zodiac ride was cancelled but we did go outside on the deck and enjoyed ourselves.  I have some pictures of some of the women on the cruise and also who were part of the expedition staff with their hair blowing in all directions.  It was not that cold but definitely windy.

 

DON

[OnTheJourney]

8 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

definitely windy.

I'll bet. Pretty darn windy hanging from the helicopter cable about a hundred feet above the ocean during the bomb cyclone that we sailed through in Hustadvika. 

[clo]

We were lucky and got the Drake Lake rather than the Drake Shake. No problems whatsoever.

[OnTheJourney]

On 1/3/2021 at 8:43 PM, clo said:

We were lucky and got the Drake Lake rather than the Drake Shake. No problems whatsoever.

👍🏻 Fantastic, wasn't it?  I know there are those out there who like just the opposite and enjoy "the motion of the ocean" as some put it - but I was just as happy for smooth sailing. It was astounding...thought I was in the Caribbean instead of the Southern ocean. 

[karen11g]

On 11/3/2020 at 1:46 AM, donaldsc said:

 

We did miss one zodiac trip because we encountered ~100 kt (114 mph) winds but the ship handled it w minimal problems.

 

Wait, what? Isn’t that Cat 3 hurricane level winds? How rare or common is that level of high winds on these cruises?

[donaldsc]

4 hours ago, karen11g said:

 

Wait, what? Isn’t that Cat 3 hurricane level winds? How rare or common is that level of high winds on these cruises?

 

I have no idea but that is what the wind meter on the bridge indicated.  I can assure you that it was really windy when you went out on deck.  The captain said that several Antarctica bound ships were not leaving Ushuaia until the storm abated.  Our ship handled it very well.  They did close and batten down all the external windows and portholes on the ship however.

 

DON

[pdmlynek]

On 2/29/2020 at 7:34 PM, SeaDog-46 said:

As an ex mariner who has been "Around the Horn" & in Drake Passage twice,  I would not even think of going to Antarctica on the mv Ushuaia or any other vessel of her type & age.

The vessel was built in USA for NOAA in 1968 & commisioned as "Researcher" in 1970.  Thats 50+ years ago.

The ship was an ice strengthened research vessel - NOT an icebreaker.

Similar in age to the Explorer that sank a few years ago.  That ship had the port side shell plating renewed at a previous dry docking put puntured the original plating on the starboard side - & sank.  They were very lucky the weather was calm & help was only a few hours away.  This is one reason the Polar Code was brought into being. The findings of the inquiry into the loss of Explorer is available on the web.

mv Ushuaia is registered under one of the worst Flags of comvenience - Comoros in East Africa & operated by Argentinians.

 

 

Thank you for the warning.  This is very helpful to us.  

[pdmlynek]

On 4/6/2020 at 3:39 AM, kaisatsu said:

You do realize that none of the Antarctic expedition ships these days are icebreakers, right?

None of the icebreakers have run tourist trips in the Antarctic for a few years.

Isn't Ponant's Le Commandant Charcot ice class PC2?  Wouldn't that qualify as an icebreaker?

[kaisatsu]

5 hours ago, pdmlynek said:

Isn't Ponant's Le Commandant Charcot ice class PC2?  Wouldn't that qualify as an icebreaker?

Sometimes the dates of posts are important:

 

5 hours ago, pdmlynek said:

On 4/6/2020 at 9:39 AM, kaisatsu said

Le Commandant Charcot had her inaugural voyages in 2021.

 

It’s also interesting to note that Ponant has been using her a lot more in the Weddell Sea and Ross Sea voyages, where an ice breaker provides more advantages. There’s still not a huge reason to use one around the peninsula (outside of very early season trips). Missed landings are typically caused by wind, swell, or beaches ice that make it impossible to safely launch/land the landing craft, so an icebreaker isn’t going to help.

[pdmlynek]

6 hours ago, kaisatsu said:

Sometimes the dates of posts are important:

 

Le Commandant Charcot had her inaugural voyages in 2021.

Thanks for the correction. I saw a trip report about Le Commandant Charcot, and assumed that the ship has been around for a while. Well, longer than that of the posting, anyway.

 

I am going to Google what classification each ship in Antarctica have.

 

 

 

[pdmlynek]

6 hours ago, kaisatsu said:

 

It’s also interesting to note that Ponant has been using her a lot more in the Weddell Sea and Ross Sea voyages, where an ice breaker provides more advantages. There’s still not a huge reason to use one around the peninsula (outside of very early season trips). Missed landings are typically caused by wind, swell, or beaches ice that make it impossible to safely launch/land the landing craft, so an icebreaker isn’t going to help.

That certainly makes sense. Given that about 100K per year visit Antarctica, at least a portion would like to see more than the western coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. 

 

When scrolling through the 45 IAATO landing site I was struck that there are several of them in the Ross Sea, yet there are very few comments about them on CruiseCritic or similar websites.  I wonder what the motivation for that was. Perhaps the uniqueness of the sites in Ross Sea, such as the various early explorer huts, and dry valley. 

[PerfectlyPerth]

On 3/5/2023 at 5:24 AM, pdmlynek said:

 

 

When scrolling through the 45 IAATO landing site I was struck that there are several of them in the Ross Sea, yet there are very few comments about them on CruiseCritic or similar websites.  I wonder what the motivation for that was. Perhaps the uniqueness of the sites in Ross Sea, such as the various early explorer huts, and dry valley. 

On my West Antarctica, East Antarctica & Ross Sea trips literally no one on board has heard of / or would use Cruise Critic or Trip Advisor. Many belong to private forums for the worlds most travelled people -where entry is open only if you have passport evidence of 100 country landings. The rest are simply more interested in travelling than talking about it online. 

[pdmlynek]

12 hours ago, PerfectlyPerth said:

On my West Antarctica, East Antarctica & Ross Sea trips literally no one on board has heard of / or would use Cruise Critic or Trip Advisor. 

...

I am not surprised. Most people that I know have not heard of Cruise Critic.  There are countless discussion forums on cruising, or travel in general.  There are hundreds of such groups on Facebook, Reddit, and dozens of platforms such as VK, TikTok, Baidu Tieba, Odnoklassniki, etc.  There are so many groups on so many platforms in so many languages that nobody can keep them straight.  And they keep popping up and disappearing way too easily, e.g., Thorntree.  

 

In some ways, I miss the days of usenet, in late 80s, where I can go and ask a question on something like rec.travel.cruising, rec.travel.antarctica or whatever, and I woudn't have to wonder if there are other discussion venues available.  And if I wanted to look something up, I'd just use a table of contents to the internet on Yahoo! where someone already organized the internet, instead of trying to hunt and peck using Google, Bing, or other search engines.  

[wolfie11]

On 3/12/2023 at 10:13 AM, PerfectlyPerth said:

Many belong to private forums for the worlds most travelled people -where entry is open only if you have passport evidence of 100 country landings. The rest are simply more interested in travelling than talking about it online. 

How does that work in this day and age?  I have stamps in my passport for less than half the countries I've visited in the last 6 years, including Australia.

[PerfectlyPerth]

On 3/14/2023 at 5:38 AM, wolfie11 said:

How does that work in this day and age?  I have stamps in my passport for less than half the countries I've visited in the last 6 years, including Australia.

Still plenty of ways to prove arrival in a new country, island, location etc. Time stamped photos etc. E-visa emails. 
I do personally miss adding stamps to my passport ! Last one was empty when I replaced it - despite travel. Times have changed. 

[kathynorth]

On 3/12/2023 at 10:13 AM, PerfectlyPerth said:

On my West Antarctica, East Antarctica & Ross Sea trips literally no one on board has heard of / or would use Cruise Critic or Trip Advisor. Many belong to private forums for the worlds most travelled people -where entry is open only if you have passport evidence of 100 country landings. The rest are simply more interested in travelling than talking about it online. 

What is the name of this private travel forum? Thanks 

[donaldsc]

On 3/3/2023 at 10:01 PM, pdmlynek said:

Isn't Ponant's Le Commandant Charcot ice class PC2?  Wouldn't that qualify as an icebreaker?

 

Polar Class 2

The 270-passenger vessel, capable of breaking up to 2.5 metres (8 ft) thick multi-year ice and taking passengers to the North Pole, was delivered in 2021. The United States Coast Guard has ordered two out of three planned PC 2 rated heavy polar icebreakers referred to as Polar Security Cutters.

On 3/3/2023 at 10:01 PM, pdmlynek said:

Isn't Ponant's Le Commandant Charcot ice class PC2?  Wouldn't that qualify as an icebreaker?

 

Polar Class 2

The 270-passenger vessel, capable of breaking up to 2.5 metres (8 ft) thick multi-year ice and taking passengers to the North Pole, was delivered in 2021. The United States Coast Guard has ordered two out of three planned PC 2 rated heavy polar icebreakers referred to as Polar Security Cutters.

 

DON