Antarctica Trip Recap March 2023
A Bluewater Travel Expedition
Words and pictures by Tim Yeo
Underwater Camera Equipment Used: Sony a6400, Ikelite Housing, 10-18mm lens and dual Kraken KR-S02 strobes
Topside Camera Equipment Used: Olympus EM5 and iPhone 13 Pro Max
Pre-Antarctica trip
Embarking to Antarctica is quite the adventure in itself, even from major hubs in the U.S. like Los Angeles. My route took me through Mexico City, with a 12-hour overnight layover before a 9-hour flight to the pulsating heart of Buenos Aires. Once there, I immersed myself in the Latin American city’s vibrant energy, taking the opportunity to explore its dynamic streets and rich culture for a few unforgettable days.
Embarkation Day: March 20
Everyone had to arrive at least one day before embarkation in Ushuaia, Argentina. The reason being that our vessel had strict luggage rules, and we all had to drop off our bags for inspection before loading. Bag drop was quick and easy, then we had the whole day to explore. Ushuaia is a picturesque little town with a few streets packed with shops and restaurants. Some of the must-try cuisines include the local lamb, king crab, snow crab, and varieties of ice cream. Some guests even arrived in Ushuaia a few days early to dive the Beagle Channel or explore other local attractions (e.g., forests, glaciers).
Our home for the next 2 weeks, and the view of Ushuaia in the background
We boarded the boat at 4 pm, but we could not depart right away due to heavy winds, foreshadowing the weather we’d endure for the next few days. We were expecting rough seas when we got out to the Drake Passage the next day, with anticipated 24-foot seas and 30+ knot winds.
After a mandatory safety briefing and emergency evacuation exercise, we had dinner and the rest of the night was spent in the lounge getting to know the crew and other guests. The winds finally subsided a little and we started our voyage to Antarctica at around 10 pm.
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First Day at Sea: March 21
On our first day at sea we left the shelter of the Beagle Channel, named after Charles Darwin’s exploration boat, The Beagle. We made our way south of Cape Horn and felt the full brunt of the Drake Passage. During the mandatory biosecurity briefing many guests became seasick and started vomiting. Luckily everyone in our group was prepared with scopolamine patches and seasickness medications.
After the biosecurity briefing we had a mandatory inspection and cleaning of our outerwear, backpacks, and drysuits to ensure that we did not introduce any foreign organic matter to Antarctica. After lunch, we picked up our rental boots which we used for shore landings. On most expeditions guests were allowed on the outside decks of the vessel, but because the Drake Passage was really rocking the boat, the captain made the call to confine all guests inside.
Meals on the boat were served in the 150-seat dining room. It was buffet style for breakfast and lunch, and plate service for dinner during the crossings. The first night we had dinner entree options of quesadillas, duck, or seafood. There were also custom options for guests with dietary restrictions like vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, etc.
Amazing views from the dining room. We even did an outdoor BBQ one evening.
Second Day at Sea: March 22
Day 2 at sea mirrored Day 1. We did not expect to see the continent until about 2 am the next day. After breakfast, we had our first lecture in the lounge about birds and their migration patterns. After lunch, the team expedition leaders were officially introduced to the guests, although we were hanging out with them since we set sail. After the crew introduction, one of the crew members gave us a lecture about the history of marine navigation, which was interrupted by a pod of dusky dolphins who decided to show up on the starboard side for a couple minutes. After the lecture, the rest of the guests stayed in the lounge while the divers headed to the dining room for a dive briefing.
There was a daily debrief of the day just before dinner, but because we were just out at sea, we were treated to three more seminars about whale and orca identification, a seminar about Antarctica’s location at the South Pole, and a seminar about bird identification. We also got a next day preview as it was to be the first day we stepped foot on the continent at Cuverville Island.
Weddell Seals have the cutest faces
For the diving team, our goal was to be able to get outside to set up our dive equipment on deck, and if possible head out to do our checkout dive before heading onto Cuverville Island for a little while to see a gentoo penguin rookery.
Arrival in Antarctica: March 23
We woke up with “We have arrived in Antarctica!” over the public address (PA) system. We looked out the portholes and windows and we could see our first sight of land in 3 days. We were supposed to pass by the Bransfield Strait around 2 am which would provide some shelter throughout the night, but when we got up around 7:30 am we had just rolled past it. It seemed like we were delayed by a few more hours due to the rough seas. This was not uncommon, as everything is usually dictated by weather conditions.
The view from out the porthole in my cabin
By lunch time we were told that the captain made up some time. Thus, we would be able to do a landing at 2:30 pm, 65 hours after departing Ushuaia. The outside decks were opened after lunch as the seas had calmed, and everyone put their parkas on and headed outside for the first time in 3 days to breathe in the crisp Antarctic air. As everyone started to get ready for the first landing, the dive team would stay behind to do gear setup, but we would postpone the checkout dive until tomorrow so we could get some time on land as well.
As we approached the landing site, the expedition team got the zodiacs into the water to check conditions, but the winds had picked up to 40 knots and the landing was canceled. In the meantime, our dive team got our gear ready to go for our check out dive the next day. The vessel started to move to calmer waters, and everyone enjoyed being outside with massive icebergs floating by. Some guests also spotted humpback whales in the water and penguins on land.
After the daily debrief, we had three more lectures about camera care, basics of photography, and Antarctica ice. We had another dive briefing at 9 pm to go over the plan the following day. Since we were planning an early start the next morning, we all turned in early.
First Dive and Crossing the Antarctic Circle: March 24
We started with an early breakfast at 7 am, but as the winds kicked up again, we abandoned the first landing site and headed towards another one more sheltered from the wind. But by the end of breakfast at about 7:30 am we were given the OK to do a checkout dive at Port Charcot while the rest of the guests did a landing.
Our dive team excited to finally get in the water
Eager to finally get in the water after 4 days of waiting, we geared up at 8:30 am and headed out on the zodiacs to a little shallow cove in Port Charcot at Petermann Island. On our way to the dive site, gentoo penguins seemed to welcome us to Antarctica from on shore and in the water. We did a backroll entry from the zodiacs, checked our weighting, and went on a 40-minute dive. We saw some broken penguin eggs underwater, kelp, small fishes, centuries old limpets, and a gentoo penguin doing a quick fly by. We also saw a skinned penguin carcass after an unfortunate meeting with a leopard seal.
Dive Site: Port Charcot, Petermann Island
At 4:30 pm, the expedition crew arranged a zodiac cruise around Fish Islands, but after 3 zodiacs were loaded, the cruise was recalled due to deteriorating conditions. We cruised around Fish Islands aboard the Plancius while looking at the multiple icebergs passing the vessel. After the daily debrief, we had a couple of lectures again: penguin breeding and the history of Jean Baptiste Charcot.
A very special party was planned after dinner. At approximately 10 pm, we were to cross the Antarctic circle and the crew threw a champagne countdown party in the lounge. It was especially significant for our group, as many of the divers could now say they had dived at both poles (i.e., in the northern polar circle and the southern polar circle) within 5 months of each other. The ship’s horn blew when we crossed 66°30′ S, and the champagne glasses clinked while the snowfall intensified outside.
Our dive gear covered in snow the morning after a heavy snowstorm
Diving in the Snow: March 25
The plan for the day was to head to Detaille Island where there was a research station and penguin colony. For the divers, our plan was to jump into a sheltered cove and do an exploration dive. To the best knowledge of our dive expedition leader, no one had yet dived that site before. He believed the conditions would be good enough to attempt a dive there. If conditions were bad, our contingency plan was to head to the research station on the other side of Detaille Island and dive in the cove there.
Just as we were getting suited up, the winds and seas started to pick up and the captain decided to abandon Plan A to land at Detaille Island and instead head toward the gulley to see if it was passable. If there wasn’t too much ice in the gulley, it would take about 45 minutes to make the passage. If we were not able to navigate around the ice, we would have to go around the other side of the island and that would be a 10-hour detour to continue our journey further south into the Antarctic Circle.
Ice began to fill the ocean as we moved towards the gullet
As we motored further south, the expedition crew continued with another lecture about seabirds. As we approached the gulley, many more icebergs started to appear, and some had leopard, Weddell, and crabeater seals on them. The most impressive iceberg looked like a castle with windows, arches, and towers. There were more birds in the sky, and we also spotted a number of humpback whales resting on the surface.
Luckily for us we managed to navigate through the gulley and continued heading south.
We named this iceberg The Castle
After lunch, it was announced that we would be able to make a landing on an island called Porquoi Pas Island. To the guide's knowledge, no one had been there before. Guests were able to go onto a beach and the divers had a cove to explore. No additional information was given as there was none available. Fifteen minutes after we made our plans, the Antarctic weather struck again and the captain decided to head towards Horseshoe Island so the plan was to dive a known site.
I decided to break off from the dive team and do a landing instead since we were starting late and the light wasn’t goint to be good. But 30 minutes later, the dive team was back on and the planned dive was an exploratory dive at Porquoi Pas Island. I jumped back into the dive team, got all my gear together, brushed off the snow that had accumulated on my dive gear, and did a nice dive. We saw a couple jellyfish, limpets, and starfish. This was our first dive past the Antarctic Circle.
Dive Site: Margaritte Bay, Porquoi Pas Island
After the debrief we had a seal identification presentation and dinner was an outdoor BBQ party in the snow at the stern of the vessel.
Farthest South for the Polar Plunge: March 26
The entire dive team decided not to do any dives but do some exploring on land instead. We headed to our farthest south point on this trip and landed on Stonington Island. There was still a large colony of gentoo penguins and a Weddell seal on the island and we also walked over to an abandoned research station that has kind of become a museum.
Just before we headed back to the Plancius, everyone had a chance to do a polar plunge past the South Pole. The craziest among us got into bathing suits and jumped into the water from the beach.
Polar Plunge south of the Antarctic Circle
Thank you to the expedition crew for capturing the moment!
The weather was absolutely beautiful and the sun was not only shining bright after lunch, but the wind had also died down. We reached the southernmost point of the trip at 68°13.950`S and many guests were enjoying the sunshine and the amazing landscape from multiple decks of the boat. This would be one of the most memorable experiences of the trip. After braving rough weather for a few days, the day was absolutely gorgeous with bright sunshine and lake-like conditions. The sunset over the snowy mountains was a breathtaking sight to behold.
As the sun grew lower in the sky, the light caught the sea ice at a special angle and made it glow a stunning turquoise color.
The light from the setting sun caught some icebergs, causing them to glow a stunning turquoise color
Before dinner, the expedition dive crew did a couple lectures about research diving and the dangers of diving. It was going to be calm seas and a cloudless night, so a number of guests went up to the top deck to see the Milky Way. We also tried to catch a glimpse of the southern lights, but they were not out that night.
Friendly Leopard Seals: March 27
We continued our trip northward. Our first lecture was at 10:30 am with an introduction to whales. After lunch, we had our dive briefing and everyone geared up, which took a significant amount of time compared to tropical diving.
Dive Site: Vernadsky Station, Argentine Islands
The plan was to do a wall dive, but as we neared the dive site, the lead dive guide spotted an iceberg in the channel so he went to check it out. Thankfully, he deemed it suitable and safe to dive. We backrolled off the zodiac and did our first dive on an iceberg. The different patterns of the ripples of ice underwater and the varying shades of white, blue, and turquoise was a unique sight indeed. About 10 minutes into our dive, my buddy and I were extremely lucky to be visited by a curious yet calm leopard seal. Leopard seals are the apex predators in Antarctica. They can grow to 12 feet long and weigh well over 1,000 pounds. Leopard seals are the largest seals in the world. Their main diet, like most animals in Antarctica, is krill, but they also prey on penguins and other seals as well.
We stayed at the bottom and simply enjoyed the leopard seal swimming around in front of us checking us out. After about 15 minutes, we had to start our return to the surface, as the cold started to set in. To our surprise another leopard seal appeared as we were ascending and was just as curious about us. When we got to the surface, other divers that had completed their dives were in the water snorkeling with the two leopard seals around the iceberg. So we took off our gear and started to snorkel with them as well for another 30 minutes. We were incredibly fortunate to have this incredible hour-long encounter with two calm and curious leopard seals.
Back aboard the zodiac, we found out that two of our divers got engaged underwater during the dive! Could this be the southernmost (and/or coldest) underwater engagement? Congratulations to Steve and Donna!
When we got back to the Plancius, the expedition team discussed the encounter. Apparently, it is uncommon to see leopard seals together in a pair, as they usually prefer solitude. The guide thought it was a mother leopard seal and her almost fully weaned calf since the larger leopard seal was about 12 feet and the other was about 8 feet.
Two Dive Day: March 28
Upon waking, through our porthole windows we saw tall mountains, ice in the water, and penguins porpoising around the boat. We were heading to Damoy Point, which supports a large penguin rookery.
We did a dive on a wall down to about 60 feet. The wall was covered in giant kelp and there were critters to be found all over the place. When baby penguins attempt their first swim, a number of them do not survive and drop down to the bottom where the numerous starfish come and clean up the carcasses.
Dive Site: Damoy Point, Casablanca Island
This was another wall dive next to a tall snow covered mountain. Underwater was a continuation of the steep mountain wall and it was covered in bull kelp and massive sun stars. Looking closely at the kelp, there were numerous nudibranchs that ranged from 1 to 6 inches long.
Dive Site: Paradise Harbor, Shag Rock
Ice Dive and Gentoo Penguin Rookery: March 29
The plan was to do a landing in the morning and a dive in the afternoon. As we got up and went to breakfast, however, our guide notified us that conditions were excellent. As a result, he was going to offer a morning dive that would put us on ice, then bring us to the landing after the dive.
I decided to skip the morning dive and head over to the penguin rookery instead. We did a landing on the beach and two paths were set up for guests to view the gentoo penguins. There were also giant petrels taking off and landing on the mountain.
Across a narrow channel, a massive glacier was calving (i.e., breaking off) and massive pieces of ice were falling hundreds of feet into the ocean causing waves on the beach. The sounds of the glacier calving was really impressive and echoed across the mountain. It was so loud that many of us thought it was an earthquake. Looking out to sea, multiple humpback whales were hanging out on the surface.
Glacier ice falling a couple hundred feet into the ocean
The second dive of the day was at Danco Island in the Errera Channel. On the way to the dive site, we saw many gentoo penguins porpoising around the boat, and there were many of them getting in and out of the beach, so we decided to see if we could get in the water with them. Unfortunately, other than some quick fly bys, the penguins generally avoided us underwater. When we got back onto the zodiac, our guides told us that they saw a leopard seal chasing penguins from the zodiac. That may be the reason why the penguins had all but disappeared when we got in the water.
In our daily debrief, we were told that conditions were going to change overnight and during the Drake crossing back home. The good conditions we had the past few days were about to end. We were still going to attempt to go to Deception Island, a horseshoe shaped island and active volcano in the south Shetland Islands. In fact, the Plancius would be going inside the caldera of the volcano.
Dive Site: Errera Channel, Danco Island
The volcano last erupted in 1940, blew out a window on the island, and shot volcanic ash 60,000 feet into the sky. The volcano is expected to erupt every 40 years, thus the next eruption is long overdue. If conditions allowed, the Plancius planned to attempt to navigate through the narrow Neptune’s Bellows into Whaler’s Bay where we could dive the graveyard of whale bones. The graveyard is a reminder of the thousands of whales slaughtered annually in the 1920’s for their oil, which lit up major cities from Paris to London to San Francisco.
The daily lecture was about Antarctica Ice Sheet and humpback whales and how their baleen system works.
Rapidly Deteriorating Conditions: March 30
We awoke to a rocking boat and fully expected the last dive to be canceled. To our surprise, we managed to find a sheltered cove to dive. Everyone except for two divers wanted to skip the dive to do a landing promising chinstrap penguins, southern fur seals, and southern elephant seals. But after 15 minutes on land, we were recalled back to the Plancius as the winds had picked up and it was not safe to be on land anymore. The two divers were also recalled after a 2-minute dive where they managed to see a southern fur seal underwater.
The weather in Antarctica is unpredictable; it can change in an instant. The expedition team got all the guests back to the Plancius safely and we started our journey back to Ushuaia. The lectures included avian vs. mammal eyes and krill fishery in Antarctica.
Journey Back to Ushuaia: March 31
We woke up in the Drake Passage again and spent the whole day traveling toward Ushuaia. The Drake Passage provided better conditions for our return journey and most guests already had their sea legs. As a result, the crossing back was easier for most guests. We spent most of the day going through and editing photos for a photo competition hosted by the boat. Lectures included topics such as climate change and sea ice, a history of the 1902 expedition, and an excellent 40-minute documentary about the heroic journey of Ernest Shackleton.
Last day on the Drake passage: April 1
On our last full day on the boat we made good time getting through the Drake Passage. We expected to arrive in Ushuaia some time that evening. Land was sighted after lunch, and the pilot boat appeared at about 5:30 pm with an escort to bring us through the Beagle Channel back to Ushuaia. In the meantime, the winners of the landscape, wildlife, and comedy categories of the photo competition were announced, and we also had a few lectures about animal adaptations to extreme weather. I was also asked to give a short presentation to all the guests about what the divers experienced the past few days. With photos and video contributions from all the divers, I tried to give the non-divers a glimpse of what the divers saw underwater.
We docked in Ushuaia at about 10 pm and guests were able to get off the vessel and head into town.
Disembarkation Day: April 2
Since we had two whole days to pack our bags, disembarkation day was a lot less rushed than most trips. We left our bags outside our cabins before breakfast so the crew could bring our bags down to the dock while we had breakfast. A bus was waiting at 8:30 am to take guests with early flights directly to the airport, while a van loaded all the other bags and transported them to a storage area until 2 pm so guests who had later flights could head into town, get lunch, and buy souvenirs.
Our adventure to Antarctica was nothing short of spectacular. Despite the rocky start with unfavorable weather, the expedition rewarded us with serene lake-like conditions that left us in awe. Our itinerary, which took us across the polar circle, was an unforgettable experience capped off with a lively party at the lounge. As we sailed further down the peninsula, we could feel the onset of Antarctica's unforgiving winter conditions, with sea ice beginning to form. Despite this, we had the opportunity to witness a plethora of incredible wildlife, including various whale, sea bird, penguin, and seal species. One such sighting was the leopard seal, the ultimate predator in Antarctica, making our trip even more remarkable. Reflecting on the journey, we can confidently say that our expedition to Antarctica was an absolute success, and the memories we've created will stay with us forever.
A big thank you to the crew of the Plancius, and especially to the dive expedition crew of Michael, Rick, Roman, and Lotte for making sure we had safe and enjoyable dives.
Our dive team with the dive expedition crew. Thanks to the Oceanwide Expeditions crew for the photo.
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