Hitting the Ice

Hitting the colder climate and the past rough seas have combined to give the ship a new look.

First Icebergs sighted 9 days after leaving Hobart,  finally getting sleep seas have calmed, there is a different feel to the ship as most people are able to come out of their cabins.

Snowed last night, we are now in the ice, outside temp was around -8 wind chill down to about -15.

 King Neptune created us at 60 deg South, where all the first timers South which happened to include myself, were treated to a ceremony welcoming us and an initiation of sorts, which was a combination of food scrapes, Kippers, some green shit, and what I can only describe as an unknown stench.
Upon completion we were treated to a BBQ on the rear deck and an allocation of 2 beers each, first alcohol since leaving Hobart some 10 days prior

A few locals, came out to have a look at this big orange thing invading their territory. Makes you wonder what must be going through their minds.
Emperor Penguins are naturally curious, so when the ship was bashing through the ice they would come right over for a look.

We had some nice days with minimal cloud cover which gave us an opportunity to go outside and enjoy the fresh air and cameras were a must.

The Ice was proving difficult to get through the voyage was now about 7 days delayed, at one point we only achieved 1 nautical mile in 24 hours. Visibility was poor so the ship was stopping for about 4 hours from 12 midnight, this is when the light would drop, I would wake up as soon as we started to bash into the ice again around 4.30am.

Finally we had broken through the thick ice and made it to the polinia which is supposed to be clear water, however not to be, they had bad weather and all clear water was covered with pancake ice. Davis Station was less than 100 nautical miles and we would be arriving at around 4.00am the next day.