(Editor’s note: Tyrone native Rick Stonebraker has shared his experiences with The Daily Herald in running “The Last Marathon”. This is the third article in a series of four that will run in the form of a diary of Stonebraker’s experiences.)
February 27
After a smooth night of sailing, the dawn brought a bright sun that glistened off the abundant ice plus a clear blue sky. I heard the spouting of the whales before I saw them. Through my binoculars I spotted the mother and her calf. Gliding easily in the water as they rhythmically go up and down in search of their favorite food of krill. They arch their backs and rise partly out of the water and then dip down while their flukes (tails) rise out of the water for a magnificent view of these colossal creatures.
The typical size of a Humpback whale is between 36 to 52 feet long and can weigh up to 90,000 pounds. At birth, a calf can reach 13 to 15 feet long and weigh 150 pounds.
Three zodiacs were launched and got to within 50 feet of these behemoths. I was in the third one using my video camera. We were so close that you could see the white part of the under side of the fins under water. The breeze brought the spray from the blowhole towards us and it was amazing!
We cruised for another couple of hours before heading back for lunch. We saw approximately 50 whales on this journey.
The afternoon was reserved for sea kayaking but the swells were over a foot and too much for recreational kayakers like myself. We motored around the bay looking at more whales, seals on ice flows and just taking in the amazing landscape that Antarctica has to offer.
We weighed anchor in late afternoon and headed for more beautiful scenery. We dropped anchor in Arara Bay and would set foot on Antarctica in the morning. As we were having dinner, the scenery through the portholes was completely blocked out by an immense iceberg that drifted by. In fact, it was so close, the captain had to move the ship out of harm’s way in case of a sudden wind shift or change of current. This berg was twice the size of the ship and stretched a couple hundred feet into the sky. It was hard to imagine this chunk of ice was a haven unto itself.
February 28
It snowed throughout the night and three to four inches were on the boat by morning. It was difficult to sleep past 5:30 so I was eager to see what effect the new fallen snow had done to the landscape. The rock faces were dusted and a bitter wind came into the bay so I went below to get my gloves and a warmer hat.
In the morning, the IOFFE had slid into the bay and we would all transfer later in the afternoon to have a BBQ on the stern of their ship.
During morning tea, my friend Rohit from India made an observation. He stated that the views of the continent and the bays were the same views that were scene by the first explores a couple hundred years ago and nothing has changed since then. One of the few places on earth that one can make that statement.
We landed the zodiacs on Danko Island where there was a large rookery of Gentoo penguins. Their red bills matched their red feet. The higher up the hill I climbed, the colder it got. I put on my balaclava and got a second pair of gloves out of my backpack. My climb was rewarded on film as I observed a mother feeding her chick by regurgitating what she had in her stomach.
As we cruised through a field of icebergs, we found one berg that was in the shape of a crescent. When we went entered the curve, it was big enough to hold a football stadium. Hard to imagine the scale of these drifting islands. We always had to keep a certain distance because even though three-fourths of the ice berg is below water, sometimes the portion underwater can wear away or melt and the berg becomes top heavy and will roll over.
After lunch we went over to the IOFFE. The temperature was hanging around 32-33 degrees as we enjoyed wienies, steak, fish, potatoes and chicken cooked on deck. Two boats made out of ice cream were prepared for dessert. I had a photo taken eating ice cream outside in Antarctica with gloves on. A good time was had by all. The marathon awards ceremony was held afterwards. Both men and women winners came from our boat. A group photo of Carolyn, her husband Bill, Susan, Lisa and myself was taken. The only five people from the entire Houston area were all from Clear Lake City and we all lived within three miles of each other.
On the way back to the ship, “Dutch”, one of the Aussies took a detour as he spotted a Leopard seal on an ice flow. These creatures are the most feared of the pinnipeds and can reach 1,100 pounds.
They have been known to attack a human on land as the bulky clothes and boots we wear onshore prevents us from moving very quickly. But while we are in the zodiacs, they are not very aggressive.
After another delicious dinner, we are prepared for a night out, one that will be remembered for a long time. Our staff warned us to minimize drinking any tea or coffee and limit the intake of water for the remainder of the evening. I forgot to mention earlier that we are not to leave anything behind that could pollute this fragile environment while visiting any part of Antarctica. So, on EVERY shore landing, blue plastic barrels are brought ashore for anyone who “needs” it. The portable “Johns” are affectionately known as Mr. Yum Yum. If they are needed, the staff will discreetly surround the barrels while you use it. Not once during a shore excursion were they used.
Around 9:30 p.m., those hearty souls who wish to partake on a great adventure left the safety and confines of the ship and ventured to land. The only safe landing spot in the whole bay was a spit (peninsula) that stuck out from the mainland a couple hundred yards. This snow covered spit was about 50 feet above the bay. We landed and trudged our way up the hill until we came to a flat spot. We picked out a suitable area and proceeded to pitch tents. The accommodations for the night were either a three-person tent, a two-person tent or an individual bivy bag. The bivy bag was nothing more than a waterproof shell to stuff a sleeping bag in and yourself. It had a hood to prevent snow from coming in and you sleep on a matt on the ground.
The tents afforded more room but the bivy bag was the choice for a dozen or so adventurous souls. It was dark when we pitched the tents and the temperature was right around 35 degrees.
The sleeping bags were rated at ten below and they came with an insulated hood. I was prepared to sleep in a set of polypropylene pj’s and a pair of loose wool socks. The rest of my clothes went into a bag that became my pillow.
It was pretty neat camping out in Antarctica. It had started to snow quite heavily during the night and on many occasions, when it piled up enough, it would slide down the sides of the nylon tent and sounded like the material was ripping. Try as I might to avoid visiting Mr. Yum Yum during the night, when nature calls, it is hard to ignore BUT I was prepared as I had read a story about some mountain climbers trapped in their tent for ten days while climbing Mt. McKinley in Alaska. I took an empty quart-size Gatorade bottle to bed with me and I made use of it twice during the night. Always learn something from other people’s experiences.
Three times during the night, avalanches from the adjacent mountain came crashing down into the bay. The last one was tremendous as I opened up the fly-door at the rear of the tent and watched a wall of ice and snow come crashing into the bay. There was enough light to see a five-foot wave roll towards our spit but we were fifty feet off the bay so there was no imminent danger. After that, it was hard to go back to sleep. I dressed and crawled out of my tent around 5:30 and climbed the hill to wait for the morning. It had snowed all night long and dumped a foot of snow on our camp.
Those who slept in the bivy bags were nearly covered with snow and it was an awesome sight to see our camp buried in snow. As people arose, I told them to hand out their cameras and I took photos of them in their snowy cocoon. Slowly, the camp arose, brushed off the snow and broke camp.
There was a father and son team from Seattle that completed their first marathon. The son turned 18 on the trip making him the youngest ever to accomplish this fete. He brought a short pair of skis with him and skied down the hill through the camp, which afforded him the distinct honor of skiing in Antarctica.
(Editor’s note: The last installment of the story can be found in tomorrow’s edition of The Daily Herald.)
