Another
calm but overcast day. This morning we went ashore at Vernadsky
Station in the Argentinian Islands, a Ukranian Base purchased from
the British in 1996 for one pound. It was one of a number of British
bases and presumably surplus to British requirements at the time.
There is staff of 12 who spend nine months here at a time - a cook, a
doctor, a mechanic, a computer engineer and 8 scientific staff. They
gave us a tour and of their facility including a cute little bar and
souvenir room where, had we wanted to, we could have tasted their
vodka. The captain and officers of the ship are Ukrainian and
Russian. Perhaps that explains why they were prepared to welcome 200
guests or perhaps they just like additional company occasionally.
Before
going on shore, we spent an hour in a zodiac exploring the local
area. How many photos of ice formations would you like to see? Apart
from the ever present Gentoo penguins, we also had the opportunity to
get up close and personal with some Adelie penguins, subtly different
in their appearance.
This
afternoon, we did the usual combination of 90 minutes ashore walking
in the snow among penguin rookeries on Peterman Island and 90 minutes
zodiac cruising among the sea ice, ice formations and, of course, the
penguins and seals with the ever present spectacular glaciers in the
background.
One
of the other guests is Gary McKirdy, a retired MSQ hydrographer from
Brisbane. He knows G.T. and the other Southport MSQ crew well. He
gave me his details being 0448 330 309, gary.mckirdy@bigpond.com.
I am inserting them here just so I have a record of them I won't
lose. Apparently he has some hydrographic information about Lady
Elliot Island he is willing to share with us.
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