Paulet Island, Antarctic Peninsula, January 14, 2003
A quick glance outside at 4 AM shows a gray world. From our neighbors
we hear that the landing has been postponed till 6.30 and we quickly
go to bed again. At 6 o'clock the weather hasn't improved much but this
time the landing isn't canceled. However, with only 90 minutes left
before breakfast and without the beautiful sky we hoped for we decide
to skip this one landing.
After breakfast we're ferried to Paulet Island again. This time we
land a few hundred meters further up the shore, close to the Nordenskjöld hut.
The Nordenskjöld hut is the place where in 1903 the shipwrecked crew of the
Antarctic, a Swedish Antarctic expedition vessel, spent a winter in a stone
hut in cramped and very basic conditions. Instead of walking on the shore we
decide to do some zodiac cruising instead.
The rest of the morning we cruise between the icebergs in front of Paulet Island.
Many pictures are shot in an attempt to photograph Adélies jumping from icebergs.
Adélies travelling in the other direction, i.e. from the sea to the surface of
an iceberg, are harder to photograph. At high speed they suddenly rocket from
the surface of the sea to land on the icy surface of the berg. We witness some
spectacular misses (or hits depending on your point of view) as well.
When most of the zodiacs return to the Polar Star for lunch, we stay ashore.
We enjoy the sights of a steady line of Adélies walking from the colony to the sea.
We also spend some time watching a couple of shags. They're curious and they
approach us as close as they dare. It's funny to see the diet of both shags and
Adélies reflected in the color of their respective areas on the hill in front of us:
a yellowish white at shag's quarters and a pinkish brown where the Adélies live.
We slowly walk to the ruins of the Nordenskjöld hut. Adélies now live in, on top
of and in front of the stone remnants. While we linger here there's a sudden
excitement at the seafront. A leopard seal has caught an Adélie and is vigorously
shaking the poor penguin to rip it off its skin. From a distance we watch the scene
for a while but when we've covered the hundred meters to the waterfront the
leopard seal has disappeared.
Just when we think the seal is gone it appears again about hundred meters to the
left. I forget about penguin pace and run towards the spot where a second Adélie
has been caught. When I arrive there the penguin is still alive. It tries to get
away but the seal is faster. It pulls the penguin under water and then the vigorous
shaking of the seal's head begins again. One, two, ten times the same happens.
The Adélie is litterally torn apart. Two zodiacs approach to get a closer look.
The leopard seal doesn't bother. I do; they're in my view. Then the seal is gone again.
I slowly walk back to the place where I left my bag. The leopard seal surfaces
right in front of me. Apparently it's patrolling the swallow waters. The Adélies
are very reluctant now to enter the water and those that want to get out do so
as quickly as possible. Then a third Adélie is caught! The video's batteries are
empty. Time for pictures!
I arrive at the scene when the shaking of the penguin has started again. The
zodiacs behave much better now and my roll of film disappears with amazing speed.
The sight is both great and gruesome. Chunks of penguin flesh vanish in a mouth
filled with razor-sharp teeth. And again the seal is gone! I'm up to my knees in
the water. What if the seal would like to try some different flavor for a change?
I walk back to my bag and put a new roll of film in my camera. You'll never know!
The leopard seal is still patrolling the area and we see him surfacing several times.
But that's all. Time to go back to the Polar Star. We pack our stuff and enter the
zodiac. A new attack! Right in front of Jim Danzebaker's feet an Adélie is snatched
from the shore. For the fourth time we witness the seal's voracity. Another roll of
film is gone. On our way back to the ship there's a fifth attempt but this time the
penguin manages to escape.
Immediately after we climb aboard, the anchor is raised. We sail south into the
Weddell Sea and hope to get as far South as Seymour Island and Snow Hill Island Island.
In the meantime we keep an eye out for whales and, hopefully, an emperor penguin.
Unfortunately we soon enter an area with heavy pack ice. On top of that we enter an
area with heavy fog as well and our progress is reduced again to a mere three knots.
As the fog effectively eliminates our chances to see emperor penguins Doug decides
to turn around and instead head for the Antarctic Sound. Soon we reappear out of
the fog and the remainder of the evening is spent sailing over a dead calm sea
filled with icebergs of all sizes that mirror in the sea's surface. The outside
world is reduced to three colors: white blue and gray. Unforgettable!