The Weddell Sea is a pristine area of Antarctica, reserved only for the luckiest of polar travellers. A dramatic sailing through so-called ‘iceberg alley’ brings you to a region of rare wildlife, including the elusive and enigmatic emperor penguins. Maximise your chance of landing on some of the most remote places in the planet in extraordinary style - by helicopter.
M/V Ortelius is a former Russian scientific vessel, built in Poland. Named after the cartographer who published the first modern world atlas, Ortelius is a good expedition vessel for exploring the more remote polar regions because of its high ice-class rating (meaning it can navigate difficult conditions). It also has a large amount of deck space from which passengers can observe the passing wilderness and a good number of on-board experts and Zodiacs to maximise wildlife-viewing. For this voyage, the Ortelius is also equipped with helicopters.
Itinerary
[+] Detailed Itinerary
Day 1:
Ushuaia
In the afternoon, we embark in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world located at the Beagle Channel and sail through this scenic waterway for the rest of the evening.
Overnight Cruise Boat (H++)
Included meals: Dinner
Day 2 to 3:
Drake passage and the South Shetland Islands
During these two days we will sail across the Drake Passage. When we cross the Antarctic Convergence, we arrive in the circum-Antarctic up welling zone. In this area we may meet Wandering Albatrosses, Grey Headed Albatrosses, Black-browed Albatrosses, Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses, Cape Pigeons, Southern Fulmars, Wilson’s Storm Petrels, Blue Petrels and Antarctic Petrels.
Overnight Cruise Boat (H++)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 4:
Venturing into High Antarctica
A typical itinerary in the Weddell Sea could be as follows. This is a sample only, the final itinerary will be determined by the Expedition Leader on board.
We will sail into the Weddell Sea and if the Antarctic Sound is accessible and the ice does not prevent us to sail further, we might see the huge tabular icebergs that announce our arrival to the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula.
We plan to offer an Antarctic Continent landing at Brown Bluff
Overnight Cruise Boat (H++)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 5 to 6:
Emperor Penguin Colony
The use of helicopters has a great advantage and can support us in our goal to reach the Emperor penguin colony, but the itinerary is ruled by the forces of nature, ice and weather conditions. If the conditions are favourable, we intend to spend the first few days in the Emperor Penguin rookery. The helicopter operation will take a full day and the flight duration takes approximately 15 minutes. The helicopter can accommodate 6 passengers per helicopter flight. The landing point of the helicopter will be carefully chosen and we will make sure that the Emperors are not disturbed or stressed by helicopter noise. Therefore, after the arrival, the passengers continue their expedition on foot. After a walk of approx. 45 minutes, passengers will experience one of the greatest moments of their life, a rendezvous with the magnificient Emperor Penguins. Keep in mind that we are in the world's most remote area and there are no guarantees, including a specific amount of helicopter time. Conditions may change rapidly, having its impact on the helicopter operation and passengers should understand and accept this. Safety is our greatest concern and no compromises can be made
Overnight Cruise Boat (H++)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 7:
Visit Devil Island
If conditions were favourable on both day 5 and 6 and we have successfully visited the Emperor Penguins, we may decide to visit Devil Island, Vega Island or Hope Bay. If we have not reached the Emperor Penguin colony on one or two of the previous days, we will try again offering ship-to-shore helicopter flights to Snow Hill Island
Overnight Cruise Boat (H++)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 8:
Sail to Deception Island
In the morning we have planto visit Half Moon Island where we can see Chinstrap and Gentoo Penguins, various other bird-species and Southern Elephant Seals and Weddell seals.
Early in the afternoon we will sail to Deception where we have the last landing of our voyage at Pendulum cove.
Overnight Cruise Boat (H++)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 9 to 10:
Drake Passage
In the Drake Passage we have again a chance of seeing many seabirds and to take advantage of the knowledge of our lecture team.
Overnight Cruise Boat (H++)
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 11:
Back in Ushuaia
We arrive in the morning in Ushuaia and disembark.
Included meals: Breakfast
