(Editor’s note: Tyrone native Rick Stonebraker has shared his experiences with The Daily Herald in running “The Last Marathon”. This is the last article in a series of four that will run in the form of a diary of Stonebraker’s experiences.)
March 1
We had a hearty breakfast on board the ship and swapped marvelous stories from the night on the ice. Michelle admitted she had to crawl out of the tent, walk down to the dock and use Mr. Yum Yum. That must have been a cold seat.
The adventure led to another certificate: Peregrine Adventures acknowledges Rick Stonebraker Antarctic Camping Award in recognition of the true spirit of adventure by camping on the ice in Antarctica at Paradise Harbour, 64053’S, 62035’W on 28th February 2005.
Those who did kayaking received a similar certificate as well. We received a certificate for the whole journey as well as a certificate for completing the marathon.
The kayaking championship was held in the afternoon. The IOFFE anchored a kilometer away and was the staging area for the start/finish line. They paddled to the VAVILOV, made a turn around a zodiac and headed back towards the IOFFE. The individual ladies and gentleman winners came from our ship while the double champions came from the IOFFE.
The last excursion was a penguin rookery on Cuverville. There was a study done here over the decades that proved quite interesting. Tourists were allowed to intermingle with the penguins on one side of the hill but were not allowed over the crest to the other rookery.
They wanted to determine if there was any significant difference in the growing population from the penguins that were visited by people from the penguins that were not visited by people. It seemed those that were visited by people flourished and multiplied quicker than the ones that were isolated…..however that was determined.
More penguins, more humpback whales and an endless display of icebergs made up the journey and it came to an end all too soon. During our six days in Antarctica, we saw: Minke whales, humpback whales, leopard seals, Antarctic fur seals, weddell seals, crabeater seals, chinstrap and gentoo penguins, snow petrals and brown skuas (both birds) and elephant seals.
That night, John and the staff held an auction to raise funds for one of their favorite causes, the wandering albatross. Thousands of these magnificent birds are killed every year by the habits of the long liners. Commercial fisherman use long lines that are baited and lowered into the water to catch large fish. The albatross can dive deep into the water to eat the bait. They get snagged by the hooks and are pulled under. Several items were auctioned off and the generosity of the passengers raised $5,320 towards the wandering albatross fund.
Time to raise anchor and head back across the dreaded Drake Passage and back to civilization. A friend gave me a patch to place behind my ear and it worked to a degree. On the second day across the passage, the seas got a little rough with three to four meter waves, some crashing onto the bow of the ship so I spent some time in my bunk but only missed one meal that day.
The presentations on the way back were interesting as I have read and studied these people before.
Men like Captain Scott and his ill-fated expedition in their quest to be the first person to the South Pole. Roald Amundsen, a Norwegian, beat him by a month. Scott and his two companions froze to death on the return, only 11
