Portal Point – The Final Adventure

Today will be our last walk on Antarctica. First we’ll cruise to Portal Point and check out a ship wreck and some icebergs, then we’ll head off to Enterprise Island where we’ll do another continent landing. Weather couldn’t be better, slight wind at about 10 knots, partially cloudy, a bit chilly with temp around 38F and warming. The conditions are so good, the kayakers get another chance to paddle around. Collette and I will stick to the Zodiacs.

Entering Portal Point

This is only 10% of the iceberg. The other 90% is below water!

Finished breakfast and headed down to the mud room to change our clothes. We’re first today so no time for a second cup of coffee, off to the Zodiacs. Just a side not- the parkas we have are ours to keep after the cruise. These are very nice parkas that come with a removable vest liner. They are very warm and will come in handy during the cold Fairplay winters (if we ever stay home for one!).

Portal Point is a narrow in the northwest part of Reclus Peninsula, on the west coast of Graham Land. In 1956, a Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey hut was established on the point, from which a route to the plateau was established.

Our reason for coming here is to see the wreckage of an old whale oil ship. The ship, The Governoren, was heading out to sea with a load of whale oil and the crew decided to celebrate their bounty. They got a little carried away and somehow a lantern was knocked over and set the boat on fire. The crew abandoned ship and was saved by another ship in the area. They then towed the burning vessel to its final resting place in Portal Point hoping to put the fire out and save their whale oil. Didn’t happen. The ship burnt and sank in about 30’ of water, only the bow is above the water line. That all happened January 27,1915.

Wreck of the Governoren

This area is also known for whales, humpback whales this time of year, who probably like to come by the ship and relieve themselves. Maybe not. We saw a few whales to add to the many we’ve already seen. I think the number is around 30-35 whales for this journey. Most of the whales are just cruising and eating krill, but some have put on a pretty good show with a few even breaching the water. Awesome sight, especially up close.

Humpback tail

Humpback whale head

Better whale tail

Best whale tail. The markings on Humpback tails are unique to each whale, like a fingerprint.

Time for the final stroll on Antarctica. Enterprise Island is next with a few seals, sea lions and cormorants. An unexpected sight was as we neared the top of the island, we could see the kayakers out in the bay. Within a few minutes, several whales surfaced not 30’ from the kayakers. They stayed close to the kayaks for better than 10 minutes. What an amazing day for those people, to be that close to whales must have been thrilling, also a little scary.

Kayaking w/o whales

Kayaking w/whales!

Enterprise Island and Nansen Island were first charted as a single island and named “Ile Nansen” by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition in 1898. They are really two separate islands but very close to each other.

The islands became well known to whalers operating in the area in the early 1900s and were given the names North Nansen and South Nansen to distinguish them apart. How original! The new name, ‘Enterprise Island’ was given to the smaller of the two islands by the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-names Committee, commemorating the enterprise of the whalers who made the anchorage at the south side of the island.

The last march on Antarctica!

The Mother Ship awaits our return…

Tired fur seal

Cormorants

Cormorant nest with 3 chicks

That’s it, done for the day and done with our Antarctic adventure. We cruised back to the ship for one last changing of our clothes, and to make ready for the 2.5 day crossing of the Drake Passage. We have now been on all 7 continents on the earth!

One to the next adventure…