From the Antarctic to the Tropics: Days 9-19 : On the Polar Pioneer

I plan to write about the rhythm of our daily life on – and off – the Polar Pioneer! But first I’ll write a little about the Polar Pioneer herself.

We first met the Polar Pioneer in Ushuai, moored next to the Crystal Serenity, a large cruise ship. She sure looked small in such company, but proved to be a very comfortable vessel (despite what the seasick might have thought!), even though she was not offering us the luxury of her Ushuai berth mate!

In Ushuai harbour: the Crystal Serenity on the left, Polar Pioneer to her right.

Boarding the Polar Pioneer, and meeting the expedition leaders

The Polar Pioneer is a Finnish built, ice-strengthened ex Arctic research vessel, but is now Russian owned and crewed. For those for whom such things mean something, she has a length of 72 m, a beam of 12.8 m, a draft of 4.5 m, and a gross tonnage of 1753 t. She was carrying 54 “expeditioners” – that’s us – with 8 expedition staff, and a mainly Russian crew of 23. Two important points for us were that the small number of expeditioners meant we would have a very personalised experience with plenty of opportunities to go ashore, and that Russian seamen are regarded as the world’s best navigators in high-latitude, icy conditions.

The Polar Pioneer in her element

Accommodation was in various types of cabin: from two- or three-bed cabins with communal showers and toilets, to quite salubrious suites. Krista and I had a twin-bed cabin with an ensuite shower and toilet. We were on deck four, port side. Our porthole looked out over the ocean, and during rough seas was a pretty good vantage point. There was a lecture theatre, a bar and lounge, communal dining rooms, and a sauna.

Our (untidy) cabin, ensuite and a view through the porthole.

The starboard side dining room

While cruising down the Beagle Chanel, and before entering Drakes Passage, we had various safety drills, including the use of the life boats. We had a practice run at boarding the life boats, with our life jackets on. It was crowded. Then we were told, in a real emergency there would also be 20 crew members to squeeze in as well!

Life boat drill, with spaces for the crew

Another thing we learnt was how to walk around the boat in rough conditions. It was simple, really, even though we neophyte tourists, and at times seasoned staff, looked as if we’d had far too much good Russian vodka as we lurched from one wall to the next, or stumbled up or down the stairs. The basic technique was to always have at least one hand on the ship. This was often by firmly grasping a railing, but even a light touch on a wall was remarkably stabilising. (I wish I had made a video!!)

Too rough to be on deck, and certainly no landing this afternoon!

During our approach to Antarctica, and when conditions were too rough to be on deck, let alone to be on land, lectures or videos were presented in the lecture theatre. These covered safety in the zodiacs and on land (which I wrote about before), the biology of seals, penguins and whales, and the responsibilities of Antarctic tourism. We also viewed “Happy Feet” while cruising back and forth, and back and forth, for most of a day sheltering from a storm in the lee of Deception Island.

In the lee of Deception Island, and sadly we couldn’t passage through Neptune’s Bellows

Over 40,000 tourists were expected to visit the Antarctic Peninsula this summer, but many of these would be in the big cruise ships and their passengers would not be making any landings. Those in smaller vessels, like the Polar Pioneer, and private sailing boats – yes, we saw several – would be making regular excursions ashore. Naturally, there is great cause for concern about the effects this tourism may have on the Antarctic environment and wildlife.

A private sailing boat at the Argentine Islands

Tourism is regulated via internationally agreed guidelines developed by the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO) and accepted by the Antarctic Treaty nations. Aurora Expeditions, who manage the Polar Pioneer and her tours, is a member of IAATO and our activities abided by these regulations. For example, at some landings certain areas were out of bounds because the resident penguins were in a sensitive phase of their life cycle, no souveniring was allowed, not even of stones or discarded feathers, and we were not to approach within 5 metres of wildlife. However, that did not deter wildlife from approaching within 5 metres of us!

“Hey , look at those funny buggers over there!”

Gentoo Penguins don’t know about the 5 metre rule!

The bridge of the Polar Pioneer was open to us all the time. It was a wonderful vantage point, well stocked with binoculars and wildlife books. It was full of fascinating electronic navigational equipment, with screens displaying our path, especially our route through the ice flows with each ‘berg sensed electronically and displayed on a screen. Despite all the electronic gear, there was still a traditional chart table with real charts laid out and crew and expedition staff poured over them with good old-fashioned rulers and callipers at hand.