March 18, 2016 - King Haakon Bay

Sometime before midnight the Polar Pioneer entered King Haakon Bay which is located near the western end of South Georgia Island and anchored for the night. I slept well and woke up just before the morning wake up call at 5:30. We have changed time zones yet we keep the ship time the same. Meal times are adjusted to sunrise and sunset.

After breakfast the anchor was raised and we headed north into the bay with the destination of Pegotty   Bluff which was the second landing place for the six members who had finally reached land after the eighteen day crossing from Elephant Island. Their first landing site was Cave Cove which is just inside the bay and is not very well protected. They only spent one night at Cave Cove.

The ship anchored again and we got into the Zodiacs for the short trip to Pegotty Bluff. The weather had really deteriorated since yesterday with a good wind and heavy rain. The one plus was a temperature of 46 degrees. There wasn't much to see but I was certainly in "Shackleton's Footsteps". The rain was pouring down and the visibility was poor so I was only able to shoot a short video and take a couple of pictures. It was a great experience just to be there.

On the way out of the bay we passed four of the seven glaciers that empty into bay. At the mouth of the bay we passed Cave Cave. Although barely visible through the fog it was obvious why Shackleton moved from that location. With Cape Rosa on our left the ship headed SE toward the far eastern end of South Georgia where we will spend the night. As we came back into the open water the winds picked up to a steady 50 MPH with gusts reported to 65 MPH. We were not told the height of the waves but my guess is 12-15'.

This afternoon we were treated to the movie "South" which was made by Frank Hurley, the expedition photographer. The film was produced in 1919 and is a silent film.

ILYB 

    Our location this morning 

    Map of King Haakon Bay

    Cave Cove