A few people have asked me, if there was one top highlight of the Antarctica trip, what would it be? Now, I'd been making a note of all the highlights throughout the trip, and I came to a list of about 20 by the end (this warrants a separate blogpost). The most comical scene had to go to the gentoo penguin that was left behind on an iceberg after all his mates jumped into the sea (see my previous video blog), but the most spectacular?
Here it is.
We had spent most of the third day in the Antarctic Peninsula under deck, sheltering from the horrendous snow and wind chill that had cut through my bones in the morning. Our captain Jerome promised there would be better weather on the fourth day.
Lo and behold, as if Jerome had a remote control for the weather, we were treated with a sunny balmy day on Day 4, with temperature rising to 5°C at its highest. We were sailing around the Peninsula in search for wildlife, and by the afternoon we found ourselves in a bay full of pack ice and icebergs. The water was very still and calm, and we were busy above deck taking shots of the landscape, whilst also hoping to spot some seals and whales.
Then, without any warning, Simon shouted "that iceberg is breaking!" and we could immediately hear a loud rumbling noise as our attention turned to the starboard side of the Fleece.
My camera was already ready to shoot and I managed to take as many continuous shots as my memory card could handle. I was a bit gutted I was't in video mode - I'd seen parts of a glacier breaking off before, but it is so abrupt and quick I've never managed to film the whole sequence. I switched to video mode anyway, ready for the big wave caused by the ice that collapsed into the calm and still water.
But the wave didn't come.
The calving of the iceberg must have changed its centre of gravity so much that the re-balance rotated and flipped it upside down. This process actually happens all the time, from the moment an iceberg is born after breaking away from an ice shelf or glacier. Over many years the iceberg would continue to melt and break up, flipping and rotating in the process. It's actually quite a common occurrence.
But what made this so special was the fact that even Jerome, who has been sailing in the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic Peninsula for 40 years, told us this was only the third time in his life he'd seen something like this.
Incredible.
Simon actually recorded this whole sequence, from the collapse to the flip, on his camcorder on a tripod. I will update with a link once he has posted his video which will be better quality and less shaky.
Here it is.
We had spent most of the third day in the Antarctic Peninsula under deck, sheltering from the horrendous snow and wind chill that had cut through my bones in the morning. Our captain Jerome promised there would be better weather on the fourth day.
Lo and behold, as if Jerome had a remote control for the weather, we were treated with a sunny balmy day on Day 4, with temperature rising to 5°C at its highest. We were sailing around the Peninsula in search for wildlife, and by the afternoon we found ourselves in a bay full of pack ice and icebergs. The water was very still and calm, and we were busy above deck taking shots of the landscape, whilst also hoping to spot some seals and whales.
Then, without any warning, Simon shouted "that iceberg is breaking!" and we could immediately hear a loud rumbling noise as our attention turned to the starboard side of the Fleece.
My camera was already ready to shoot and I managed to take as many continuous shots as my memory card could handle. I was a bit gutted I was't in video mode - I'd seen parts of a glacier breaking off before, but it is so abrupt and quick I've never managed to film the whole sequence. I switched to video mode anyway, ready for the big wave caused by the ice that collapsed into the calm and still water.
But the wave didn't come.
What actually followed was completely unexpected, and far more spectacular, so you have to see it for yourself (full screen strongly recommended).
The calving of the iceberg must have changed its centre of gravity so much that the re-balance rotated and flipped it upside down. This process actually happens all the time, from the moment an iceberg is born after breaking away from an ice shelf or glacier. Over many years the iceberg would continue to melt and break up, flipping and rotating in the process. It's actually quite a common occurrence.
But what made this so special was the fact that even Jerome, who has been sailing in the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic Peninsula for 40 years, told us this was only the third time in his life he'd seen something like this.
Incredible.
Simon actually recorded this whole sequence, from the collapse to the flip, on his camcorder on a tripod. I will update with a link once he has posted his video which will be better quality and less shaky.
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