Date: 28/2/2011
Temp: 3°C
Conditions: Partly cloudy
Winds: 5- 10 knots N
Half-moon Island sees our winds drop to 5 knts, while sheltering in Half-moon bay. Set off at 08:05 with low cloud and fog making the place look desolate and eerie. It is a harsh environment on this volcanic island. The beach is covered with granite and metamorphic rock. Adolescent fur seals sizing each other up and having small fights as we land.
They tend to make low hissing noises when upset. This island also has a colony of chinstrap penguins with adolescents at the end of the end of moulting their baby feathers.
Walking along the SE coast in the cove I cross over the point of the cove amonst penguin carcasses that have been ripped inside out by leopard seals.
Walking in the rain with gusts of wind down to the S shore we see two baby elephant seals lying next to each other, with massive, black wide eyes. They look up from their slumber as I approach, but just yawn and have a scratch with their flipper. Half asleep with one eye on me. Two layers of socks is not enough here, despite being above freezing it is freezing due to the dry climate and the wind. Sitting down without thinking is not good, as everything is covered in green-brown crap, is sticky and stinks.
Head back to the boat at 10:10 and lift anchor at 10:45 through waters 400-1100 meters in depth. Invest in a Macallan 18 year old whisky for $50 for campaing and was a must. This turned out to be cheaper than people paid in Usuaia and I shared it with a French guy called Phillipe. We will save it for camping in 2 days. Well perhaps one or two now...
Half-moon Island sees our winds drop to 5 knts, while sheltering in Half-moon bay. Set off at 08:05 with low cloud and fog making the place look desolate and eerie. It is a harsh environment on this volcanic island. The beach is covered with granite and metamorphic rock. Adolescent fur seals sizing each other up and having small fights as we land.
They tend to make low hissing noises when upset. This island also has a colony of chinstrap penguins with adolescents at the end of the end of moulting their baby feathers.
Walking along the SE coast in the cove I cross over the point of the cove amonst penguin carcasses that have been ripped inside out by leopard seals.
Walking in the rain with gusts of wind down to the S shore we see two baby elephant seals lying next to each other, with massive, black wide eyes. They look up from their slumber as I approach, but just yawn and have a scratch with their flipper. Half asleep with one eye on me. Two layers of socks is not enough here, despite being above freezing it is freezing due to the dry climate and the wind. Sitting down without thinking is not good, as everything is covered in green-brown crap, is sticky and stinks.
Head back to the boat at 10:10 and lift anchor at 10:45 through waters 400-1100 meters in depth. Invest in a Macallan 18 year old whisky for $50 for campaing and was a must. This turned out to be cheaper than people paid in Usuaia and I shared it with a French guy called Phillipe. We will save it for camping in 2 days. Well perhaps one or two now...