Point Wild, Elephant Island, South Shetland Islands
Great weather at Point Wild (Elephant Island) and beginning our way to South Georgia along the Scotia Sea.
Elephant Island, the last one of a 280nm South Shetlands chain that extends from Smith and Snow Islands to here. Its appealing, magnificent character of vertical cliffs and glacier fronts stretches over its length of 24nm. These unforgiving coasts are already in sight from breakfast time. EUROPA approaches such a legendary spot from the southwest after a whole night underway since she left Penguin Island.
Sailing around the northwest tip of Elephant, she has to deal first with the shallow waters of the Sealers Passage, leaving at her port side the jagged Seal Islets—a group of small islands and rocks that take their name from the large number of seals caught here by Captain William Smith when he sailed across this area in 1820. Just having a look at them from our decks, one can’t avoid wondering how it was possible that already in the 1800s, sealers ventured into these wild waters and hunted on Antarctica’s most severe coastlines and shores battered by swells and gales.
Under the passing snow squalls and winds from the southwest blowing at about 25kn, EUROPA sails under Top Gallants, Top Sails, Fore Course, Inner Jib, and Spanker. But the conditions eased during the morning, together with the abating seas. Even though it looks good, it is a situation not to be trusted when sailing close to Elephant Island. The partially cloudy skies show every kind and sort of cloud—from high up, where the display starts with some lenticular formations, to down below, where low, menacing rolling clouds loom over the island’s glaciers and peaks.
Less wind makes for setting more canvas. Lower Staysails and the rest of the headrig join the sail configuration for a while until it is necessary to strike all sails and use the engines to close up to Point Wild.
Surrounding us, numerous Fin whales often use this area as their austral summer feeding ground.
Easing, then blowing hard again, afterwards becoming just a breeze as the ship makes it close to land. The large glacier front of Furness Glacier ahead, the pointy cliffs of Cape Belsham at our starboard side, the small rocky island Gnomon at our port.
A place that has deeply carved its name in the history of Antarctic exploration.
Shackleton’s Transantarctic Expedition crew, after the loss of their ship and the most harrowing survival adventure drifting on the ice floes of the Weddell Sea, rowed their sloops and made it all the way to the first land where they could set foot—the rough coasts of Elephant Island. First passing by the south around the 240-meter-high steep bluff of Cape Lookout, they made their way to the northeast extremity of the island, where the conditions found at Cape Valentine were not suitable for camping. Six nautical miles further west, another spot where they could put their sloops ashore was found. It was going to be their home for the next four months—Point Wild.
Elephant Island doesn’t offer any comfort. Reduced space, rocks and big swell, calving glaciers, shallows around the coast, and no means of salvation. Thus, Shackleton, Captain Worsley, and four other men of his crew set out to sea on the James Caird, a refurbished small open boat in which they fought the storms and gales of the Scotia Sea for 16 days before reaching South Georgia in search of help. And there indeed, they found it, and after four attempts, the Chilean Captain Piloto Pardo, with his ship the Yelcho, rescued the marooned party. Although starving, tired, and frostbitten, not a man was lost. A sculpture with his bust stands nowadays at the site, clearly visible from the ship and during the zodiac cruises we did to check the site from a closer distance. We all could enjoy the rides on this fantastic afternoon of unusually good weather and low swell. A large rookery of Chinstraps covers the top of the cliffs and rocky shores, while a couple of Leopard seals try to hunt the coming and going penguins in the water.
What is next is to prepare the ship for the sea again. Before dinner, all is ready to set sail once more and start our journey of at least 700nm towards South Georgia.
First, with just a couple of Top Sails set, then, with the dimming light of the sunset and during the night, most of the canvas is hoisted. Europa sails, leaving behind her adventures in Antarctica until next season, and now faces the open waters of the Scotia Sea.