Zavodovski Expedition. The landing

On a broad reach with a South-Westerly gale Vinson of Antarctica sailed the 195nm to Zavodovski in less than 24 hours. We passed plenty of the now familiar icebergs and even got a short glimpse at Visokoi Island 8nm to starboard. Unfortunately South Westerly winds and swell made the landing on the South-West tip of Zavodovski impossible, so we sailed around into the lee of the island and anchored on the North East side for the day.

Zavodovski with its steep black Volcanic sloops , ice covered top and plume blowing to leeward is an impressive sight. Add 1.2 million penguins, a bunch of seals and the usual seabirds to the mix and it is one of the most incredible places I have ever been to. But we had to practice patience and wait for the wind to veer to a more West or North West direction.

There next morning we had the desired wind shift. We lifted the anchor and made our way back to the landing spot. The wind direction was now favourable, but there was still a bit of residue swell. We anchored and waited a few hours for the swell to change direction as well.

Jerome Poncet, the father of Southern Ocean sailing, discovered this somewhat unique spot decades ago in order to accomplish a landing on this otherwise impenetrable fortress of an island.  The ever present swell from two directions appears to cancel itself out at the very spot where you jump ashore at the top of the heave. Looks dramatic, but doable.

By noon we had both Bombard Commando dinghies ready to go - one in the water to drop of the scientist and their gear, the other ready to go on the foredeck as a back up in case of an emergency.

Tor and myself took Skip and Ian first, just with a small backpack and ropes to set up the landing site. Once they had the ropes fixed we started transferring the scientist, camping kit and all their scientific gear. All went smooth and just after two hours we had landed everyone and everything ashore. We dropped of Mariana as well to help the shore party carry all the gear from the landing to the camp site. By early evening the camp was set and we picked up Mariana, just in time as the wind increased and turned into a full blown gale by 20:00. The weather forecast for the first night looked like it would be quite tough for the team ashore with gusts predicted into the mid and high 50ies.

Fair winds and a following,

Chris Kobush

Skipper