I joined the ship at 1700 hrs as advised to find that I was just about the last person to arrive. In total there were 43 passengers (of twelve nationalities) and 18 crew (of four nationalities) making a total of 61 souls on board. On arrival I was taken to my cabin where I had been allocated a bottom bunk (thank goodness, as I doubt that I would have been able to climb in and out of a top bunk) in a six bunk cabin though there were only five of us in the cabin. This was actually very handy as the unused bunk was used to store bags and less used items as the storage space in the cabin was sadly lacking. My cabin mates were one Irish, two Germans and one Swede. Pillows, sheets, duvets and towels were supplied and each cabin had it’s own shower and toilet, the shower we were told having a heated floor.
The Europa was built in Germany in 1911 and served as a lightship at the mouth of the River Elbe. She had no engine and survived two world wars, then in the seventies over an eight year period was converted into the bark Europa. She is Dutch flagged and has all the necessary safety equipment, two main engines, one generating set, bow thruster and motorised anchor winch. The main power for sailing is the wind.
Once settled in we were mustered on the main deck, welcomed, and had a toast (snapps I think) to wish the voyage well. Then we were told the rules of the ship, possibly the more important one being that although there was alcohol on board it was not to be consumed before going on watch. Dinner was then eaten consisting of chicken, mashed potatoes and salad. Then followed a further talk about not throwing anything overboard, how the different ship’s rubbish was collected and stored until it could be sent ashore on our return to Ushuaia, the use of fresh water and the watch system that would be put in place for the passengers. The ship makes a certain amount of fresh water from sea water and although there was no mention of a restricted use it was hoped that the passengers would not use too much, especially in having showers.
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| The Europa |
Later we were given a talk about what was expected of us as visitors to Antarctica such as not throwing anything at all overboard and then had to sign that we had all understood what we had been told. We remained alongside the wharf during the night.
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| Captain Klass Gastra |
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| Passengers on deck for a briefing |
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| Our cabin, tidy compared to others. |
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| Cabin toilet and shower, wet room type. |
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| Passengers information meeting in the deck house |
Photographs of the passengers and crew had been taken yesterday and these were put up on the noticeboard together with which people would be in the three watches. The watches were normal for ships, four hours on watch then eight hours off watch, the watches being midnight to 0400 hrs, 0400 hrs to 0800 hrs then 0800 hrs to midday, the watches then repeating themselves. Although we were asked to join in and help the crew run the ship this was only a request but which all the passengers tried to do until they were cut down with sea sickness.
Breakfast at 0700 hrs consisted of various cereals, freshly baked breads, boiled eggs, yogurt, cold meats, fruit, juices, tea and coffee; plenty for everyone. After breakfast we had a safety talk, how to act when the various number bells were rung, fire alarms, man overboard, abandon ship procedures and what was expected of us when on watch and steering or doing lookout duty.
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| Cold water immersion suit |
With 42 passengers it meant that there could be 14 on each watch and generally this meant that two people each did steering or lookout for 30 minutes at a time, which was enough in the cold weather.
Lunch at 1300 hrs was a hot soup (sometime two different soups), cold meats, specially made pies, cheese and breads.
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| Climbing the mast (not me) |
During the day safety lines were rigged ready for the expected bad weather in the Drake Passage and those who wanted were allowed to climb the rigging. All of us were shown how to put on and use the safety harness which was expected to be necessary during the voyage, not just for climbing up to the rigging.
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| Climbing the mast (not me) |
We initially moved off the wharf to a refuelling station at 0900 hrs on 25 December and did finally set sail through the Beagle Channel at 1730 hrs, the sails being helped by the main engines. I was on the 2000 to 2400 hrs watch when it never actually became dark and albatrosses, petrels and skuas could be seen flying around the ship. I believe we entered Drakes Passage about 2300 hrs, both under sail and engine power.
This has been Christmas Day, but few people noticed!
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