“Iceberg off port bow!”. Within seconds,
the whole crew had assembled in a
collective state of awe. No-one in the
crew had sailed in icy waters before so
our first iceberg was quite a novelty.
We sailed close to it and looped around
it, everyone had their photo taken with
it. Titanic sprung to mind.
From more than 60 days in the
Southern Ocean’s grasp, I can count on
one hand the amount of times the sun
shone. But we were blessed with
wall-to-wall sunshine on the day of our
arrival in Antarctica, 32 days after we
slipped our lines in Auckland. Sailing
into Cape Adare, 71° S, snow-capped
mountains towered overhead, icebergs could be seen in all
directions and we even had an escort of about 30 orca.
This was what we had come for.
Before we could drop anchor, we first had to meander
our way through a minefield of ice. Trying to focus isn’t
easy when penguins are drifting by on ‘bergy bits.Remembering advice from a high latitude guide, we
aimed for the inside of a large grounded iceberg (in
shallow water, other ‘bergs will hopefully get grounded
instead of hitting you). The anchor, however, still wasn’t
ready to be dropped, it was firmly frozen in place and it
took some gentle persuasion with a sledgehammer and
hot water before we finally got the hook down.
After dealing with the inconvenience of frozen fuel lines
on the outboard, our landing party was underway.
Landing was easier said than done. Strewn along the beach
were countless car-sized blocks of ice. The ice was movingwith each wave, threatening to enclose any gap and crush
our glassfibre tender.
Having successfully run the gauntlet of the moving ice,
we landed in penguin territory. Being on land after more
than a month at sea was remarkable, but to be surrounded
by thousands of penguins took things to the next level.
One thing no photo can convey, however, is the
stench. Technically, Antarctica is a desert,
penguins aren’t too fussed with toilet habits and,
with no rain, the place stinks.
Returning to Infinity we grimaced our way
through yet another dinner from a can while
downloading the latest GRIB file. A deep low was tracking
our way so after just two memorable shore excursions we
headed deeper into the Ross Sea in an attempt to get
below the worst of the storm and take refuge in a bay. But
to our horror, we discovered that the bay we were aiming
for had already iced over for the year. With no other
choice, we’d have to ride out the storm at sea.
Infinity was hastily made storm ready as best we could,
in anticipation of strong and prolonged winds in heavily
iced waters. For once, the forecast was accurate: the wind
increased until it was blowing 70 knots and gusting off theInfinity navigates
through densely
packed ice floes
at nightAbove: at anchor
in Antarctica
Left: living with
ice at the helm‘trying to focus isn’t easy when
penguins are drifting by on bergs’
THE INFINITY STORY
At 120ft, Infinity is believed to be
the world’s largest ferrocement
yacht. Conceived with expeditions in
mind and launched in 1977 she was
never quite finished and ended up
being used as collateral in a failed
business deal. Clemens Oestreich
acquired her in the 1990s and has
called her home ever since, bringing
up five children aboard.
Equipped with a large solar
array, she can function off-grid
for extended periods. But she’s
not luxurious. All winches are
manual and none of the sails furl.
Air conditioning means opening
hatches and the art collection
is whatever Clemens’s children
(who live aboard when Infinity is
not sailing to high latitudes) have
created. She is currently doing a
medical outreach program in Tonga.
infinityexpedition.orgADVENTURE
62 December 2017