Fortuna Bay, Stromness & Grytviken, South Georgia

December 26

We had an early start with a wakeup at 4:30. Shane put a positive spin on our less than ideal weather by saying get out and enjoy the “atmospheric conditions”.

 Fortuna Bay from the ship waiting for our zodiac to be called

you can see how wet the deck is

Our second day in South Georgia was a stop at Fortuna Bay. For the serious hikers they could “walk in the footsteps of Shackleton.” It was about a 4 hour hike over the saddle and down a scree slope to the Stromness Whale station. They told us that there would be no wildlife, it was just the historic hike.

We stayed on the beach and did a shorter hike to see penguins and seals. It was a bit windy today and rainy. (I mean atmospheric) So, picture taking was tough and of course the zodiac rides were nippy. Still a wonderful morning! We had a nice walk amongst the Seals & King Penguins. Fur Seals have a recessive gene that occasionally produces a blond/white one.

 Greg had a close encounter with a curious juvenile King Penguin

 Greg wanting to know if I got his photo with "his" penguin

 one last look at the curious one

 various stages of molting

 me with a penguin

  

 Fur Seals

 Elephant Seal in the stream

 molting Elephant Seal

 you can see our reflection in the seals eye

 Fur Seal pup

 the seals were wet from the rain

 blond or white Fur Seal pup

 

If conditions were good we would get to go ashore when we stopped to pick up the hikers so we could see the Stromness whaling station where Shackleton was rescued, however with everything running longer than projected, we didn’t get to do that.

To make our schedule work we skipped Stromness and zodiacs were sent to pick up the hikers. We got great views of it from the ship.

 Stromness from the ship

 Fur Seals in the water

 bergy bits

 

After lunch and after clearing with local authorities, we could go ashore in the afternoon at site of Shackleton’s grave. We had to wait our turn as the Hurtigruten ship was in port.

 waiting to go ashore

 

 cemetery is on the left

 the deck was set up to have a BBQ on deck for dinner

A shared photo from the Shackleton hikers

We had a toast to Shackleton and Hadleigh gave a short speech in his honor. We had a choice of Ginger Ale or Whiskey. On 27 November 2011, the ashes of Frank Wild, Shackleton's 'right-hand man', were interred on the right side of Shackleton's grave-site. Shackleton’s grave stone faces in a different direction than the rest of them in the small cemetery, because they wanted him to face South.

 Hadleigh spoke to honor Shackleton

 Seals outside of the cemetery

  

 

Then, a young man who was staying the summer there took us on a tour of the whaling station and then a stop at their post office and museum & gift shop before the last tour that talked about the Shackleton journey.

 Norwegian Church

 Post Office, Museum & Gift Shop

 

Then, it was time to take a zodiac back to the ship. In hindsight we should have skipped the last tour since most of it was repetitious and we already knew the Shackleton story and with the gift shop so small and busy we had no time to tour the museum. All of the activities were only if you wanted to do any of them. You could choose to stay on the ship, take the organized tour or just wander around on your own. (the same was true on all stops of the expedition)

We saw another whale today. We have gotten quite used to seeing them almost every day.

Tonight’s dinner was a BBQ out on deck. They had hamburgers, hot dogs, ribs and tons of sides. The rain had stopped, but it was still cold and windy and I think most people would have preferred to have dinner in the nice warm dining room after a day out in the cold and drizzle. Still it was a nice touch and the people on the island all came aboard and had their fill of yummy food.

 

We skipped the movie in the lounge and had dessert in the cabin. Then, got some of the popcorn they were serving in the lounge and brought it down to the cabin and ate it while we watched the movie. Finally, I got caught up on uploading photos and making a few blog notes.

Here is the program for today:

South Georgia Fortuna Bay, Stromness & Gryviken

05:30 - 06:30 Breakfast is served in the Dining Room

06:30 We plan to land at Fortuna Bay.

Fortuna Bay lies on the central north coast of South Georgia. This fjord is 6 km (3.7 mi) long and leads to the rugged interior of the island. The Bay was named after Carl Larsen’s boat Fortuna, a whale-catcher that operated out of the first permanent whaling station at Grytviken in 1904/5. Fortuna Bay also has a link to Shackleton. Shackleton, Crean and Worsley descended Breakwind Ridge to the west of the bay, crossed the beach at Whistle Cove and continued east towards the whaling station on the final leg of their island crossing. 

* Shackleton hikers will disembark first, followed by: 1) Vincent 2) McNeish 3) Shackleton 4) Worsley 5) Crean 6) McCarthy

TBA We plan to land at Stromness (only sent zodiacs to pick up the hikers)

Stromness whaling station is located in the central harbour within Stromness Bay on South Georgia’s north coast. It is famous for being the Shackleton party’s final destination on their epic journey across South Georgia in search for help. The whaling station was in use between 1907 and 1932 when whale stocks collapsed due to overharvesting. The station is now derelict and home to fur seals. 

1) McNeish 2) Shackleton 3) Worsley 4) Crean 5) McCarthy 6) Vincent

12:30 Lunch is served in the Dining Room

TBA We plan to visit Grytviken

Grytviken lies within King Edward Cove on the western shore of Cumberland East Bay. Grytviken means ‘pot cove’ in Norwegian and Swedish, and the site earnt its name from the numerous sealers’ tripots that were found here. The ruins of Grytviken whaling station are at the head of the cove, surrounded by spectacular mountains. This whaling station was the hub of the South Atlantic whaling industry for over 60 years. It was established by Captain Carl Larsen in 1904 and in its hey day housed over 300 men and processed more than 54,000 whales in total. In addition to Grytviken’s whaling history, Sir Ernest Shackleton’s grave is also located in the nearby whalers’ cemetery, while a memorial cross is located on Hope Point at the eastern entrance to King Edward Cove. Today neighbouring King Edward Point is home to a British Antarctic Survey (BAS) research station and the centre of government administration on the island. 

1) Shackleton 2) Worsley 3) Crean 4) McCarthy 5) Vincent 6) McNeish

18:30 Please join the Expedition Staff for a Re-cap & Briefing (briefing was canceled for lack of time)

19:30 Please join us on 400 deck aft for a BBQ!

21:15 Sea Adventurer Cinema: Feature Film, “Love Actually” in the Main Lounge with popcorn

Sunrise: 04:01 Sunset: 21:00

For our third day is South Georgia the plan is to visit the largest colony of King Penguins located on St. Andrew's Bay and a stop at Gold Harbor. Early to bed again!