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Photo Galleries Home Gallery: 7-Landings in Antarctica (66) Event Code: 12152011
(Friday December 16th) –Visiting Cierva Cove, Mikkelsen Harbor. Trinity island and landing at Bombay Island. Daily Journal by Axel Krack In the morning hours, L’Austral reached our first destination for today, another expedition day in Antarctica, Cierva Cove, at the northern end of Hughes Bay. The most wanted scenario, the one everybody would like to see, blue skies and calm seas, did not happen today: another low pressure system was passing by and produced what nobody likes to see, heavy winds (up to 40 knots) and overcast skies. Cierva Cove, located on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula (Mainland), is mostly crammed with spectacular icebergs. This place name is associated with historical Antarctic aviation. The Spaniard, Juan de Ia Cierva, invented the autogiro, the precursor of the modern helicopter, and first flew it in 1923. The huge spectacular glacier front that actually forms the bay, belongs to the Sikorsky (helicopter constructor) glacier and, of course, that is the link to aviation activities of the past. Cierva Cove is the site of an Argentine summer research station called Primavera. The Captain gave us an impressive ship cruise along the glacier front in Cierva Cove, after which we joined together in the Theatre for a session of recap and questions-and-answers, while the ship repositioned north. Just after lunch, L’Austral entered a deep bay, our afternoon destination. We hoped to offer a landing in this place and the landing site is known as Mikkelsen Harbor, Trinity Island. To make this landing possible and safe for all was a great job of the crew and expedition team onboard L’Austral since the afternoon weather remained blustery. Mikkelsen Harbor, on the south side of Trinity Island, was named by the 1901-1904 Swedish South Polar Expedition led by Otto Nordenskjöld, but the source of the name has been lost. The term “harbor” is deceptive, as the landing site is, in fact, a small island, called Bombay Island, in a bay that has no harbor at all. Rocky shoals lead to a rocky beach, with glaciers forming a magnificent backdrop on a fine day. On the island, we found a few unoccupied huts and a radio mast at its summit. The harbor’s chief residents are Gentoo penguins on its slopes, and slumbering Weddell seals on the beach. The visitor also can see some remains from the former whaling period in the wrecks of a couple of water boats, and parts of a whale skeleton near the landing place. Once back onboard, we joined Nicolas, our expedition leader, for a briefing on our activities for tomorrow and, as we headed down for dinner, our little ship rolled in the long waves of the Bransfield Strait.
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Penquin Rockery
	L'Austral -our cruise ship