Day 7, March 24: E-base

DAY 7 – (Thursday)

Bellinghuasen looks like a city compared to where we have been.  There is a Chilean base right next to a Russian base; together it looks like a small town.  During the Cold War the Russians used this base to refuel spy ships and submarines. They made an awful mess.  It has an airport and there are trucks cruising about. 

Because only nations are allowed to have structures on Antarctica, Robert had to cut a deal to locate his E-Base there.  So he agreed to remove 15,000 tons of Russian junk and take it back to South America to be recycled.  The effort took him 8 years and he brought in young people from all over the world to help him do it (you can only work 3 months a year).  He made a point to bring teams of Palestinians and Israelis; Pakistanis and Indians; Russian and Chechens; etc..  For all of that, the Russians gave him a spot on a bluff above the Russian base, near the remarkable Orthodox Russian Chapel they had built.

He could not have picked a more God-Forsaken place.  We went ashore in 20-40 knot winds and climbed the bluff to the E-base.  A team from China Power and Light (a partner of 2041) has been there for 11 days working on the equipment and doing experiments.  We are here to pick them up – and to see the E-base.  This is our Northernmost stop so far – but by far the coldest, mostly because of the wind.  This is the first time the water in my water bottle froze.  The wind turbines outside the hut seem like they are about to blow to pieces (which, of course, is what happened before).  We then hiked to the other side of the Island to look for Southern Elephant Seals.  Wicked wind, but a good hike and we found a pair lounging on the beach.  These are the largest member of the seal family in the world.  These two were teenagers, but still a good 15 feet long.

We’ll be heading for the Drake Passage in a few hours.  Unfortunately, we are not going to have the same luck going back that we had coming over.  There is a large storm system moving through.  We are planning nothing for the next day and half at least – even meals will be intermittent as we all expect to be curled up in our rooms.  There really is no safety concern in a ship like this; it is just extreme discomfort.  We are told that on a scale of 1-10 toward wicked bad seas and weather, we should expect an 8.  I just put on the patch.

We just got the final segment of Robert’s presentations on leadership --.  Just extraordinary and in his Brit way, absolutely hysterical.  He talked about how when he got back from the South Pole he went to see Jacques Cousteau – who had sponsored his South Pole expedition (on the condition that he go back and retrieve every single thing from his base camp on the Ross Ice shelf.  Since the boat he had commissioned to do that sank, it was quite a feat to get it done and it took another year, including an extraordinary story of a mid-continent refueling of his airplane as it went to rescue the stranded base camp staff).  Cousteau asked him to now dedicate himself to something more.  That led to his North Pole expedition (which he reached in 1986), to the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, to his round world journey on the 2041 yacht, which continues to travel to remote places of the world to inspire young people.  The stories of these journeys are unbelievable.  Again, read his book.

We had our departure ceremony on the bow of the ship.  A tradition.  “Jumper” – one of our most colorful team leaders and a former UK Special Forces navy seal – led the three youngest passengers thru a ceremony where the ships bell is rung three times for Neptune, three times for the ship, and three for the Drake Passage.  It is meant to ensure luck crossing the Drake.  We’ll need a little bit.   

Unfortunately, the ship’s internet and satellite phones are down.  I might not be able to talk to or communicate with my girls until Saturday night.  It’s Thursday afternoon.