Earth, Wind and Fire (and Ice) (updated with pix)

From Mindy, dated 11 January:

This morning we are socked in with fog and no visibility.  We are navigating slowly through large packs of ice, moving at 9 knots.  Overnight the winds were quite stiff at about 25 knots, but this morning there is no wind. Barometer is at 986, air temp is 2.5 degrees C, water temp is -.725 C.

The conditions at the time (click to enlarge)

We tried all morning to find a good landing at Cape Melville on King George Island.  The group of rocks at Cape Melville is known as the Moby Dick Formation (wooden legs optional - Ed.).  As we attempted to launch zodiacs a storm rolled in rather quickly and we had to abandon the landing plan for safety.  We couldn't see the beach and the winds were rising quickly off of the water.  So, we relaxed on the ship while our wonderful ship captain sailed along to a new location.

Natalie and the markers
(click to enlarge)

Admiralty Bay city marker
(click to enlarge)

Lunch, hot tea and coffee, and good company.  Super awesome to just relax and have nothing to do.  By the afternoon we managed to get near a Brazilian base that gave us permission to land near them.  The base itself burned down last year (burning down a base in one of the coldest places on earth - strong work, Brazil - Ed.).  We agreed not to take pictures of the base, but it was a dismal sight.  It still smelled of smoke, and there were piles of charred, rusty metal strewn along the beach.  The personnel manning the base now live on a German cargo ship anchored in the bay, and get resupply from a Brazilian Navy ship.

Cousteau's whale bones
(click to enlarge)

Jellyfish (click to enlarge)

On shore at the landing sight we saw a nearly complete set of whale bones that had been gathered and arranged by Jacques Cousteau many years ago.  The whale is sort of an "every whale" species because it is hard to definitively say what species the bones are (or of they are all from the same whale) (how do you say "smorgasbord" in French? -Ed.).

The hot tub team (click to enlarge)

It was nice to get off the ship for some exercise, but the steady rain and the fog made conditions quite miserable.  So, it was back to the ship and my roommate and I (together with a few others) hit the hot tub to warm up on the ship.  After getting out of the hot tub in a steady cold rain, we topped off the experience with a quick trip to the sauna (set at a toasty 81 degrees C, about 170 degrees F) (hot tub and sauna are, of course, essential elements of the scientific method - Ed.).

Krill! (click to enlarge)

Tomorrow we expect to make it to the actual continent of Antarctica, but a lot depends on the ice.  Here's hoping!