Port Lockroy – Prospect point

04/03/2026

Just before we reached the Antarctic continent, we finally got the 30 knots of winds that we had been promised a few days earlier. Because of this, we were able to sail towards Port Lockroy, our first stop in the Peninsula, with all sails set. Port Lockroy is a British base located on the westside of Wiencke Island in the middle of a Gentoo penguin colony and is also the southernmost post office in the world. We met Angie the penguin who always sits on the stairs and then bites at passers by when they try to use those stairs. 

Everybody was able to send off some postcards, so if you’re reading this at home, you could expect to receive a card between 6-8 weeks (or possibly one year if delayed). 

We then left the penguin smells behind us and set off for Port Charcot, a gorgeous little bay off Booth Island. Here, famous Antarctic explorer Jean-Baptiste Charcot overwintered in 1904. 

We hiked up a hill and visited the cairn that his crew had erected there. It turned out that where we had expected a path, was in fact just rocks and snow. This made for a very adventurous hike. Along the way, we made friends (from a safe distance!) with a group of playful, young Gentoos. On the way back to the ship we woke up a napping fur seal and his disgruntled roar echoed off the hills. 

The next morning, we woke to find that during the night an iceberg had drifted on top of our anchor. It had planted itself firmly on the only bit of shallow ground in the bay (which had been such a convenience for us the night before) and staunchly refused to move when we tried to lift anchor. The extra day in Port Charcot turned out to be a blessing in disguise, for on the dinghy cruise through the nearby “iceberg graveyard” we saw two Weddel seals, and later also a Leopard seal. Sunset that evening was glorious, with penguins framed both by the last rays of sunlight and the first rays of moonlight. 

On our third and last attempt to free ourselves on the morning of the 3rd of March, Gijs manoeuvred us to the other side of the iceberg and put the ship full throttle in reverse, yanking the chain free from its icy prison. When we hauled up the anchor, we even found it to be fully intact! At the same time, Sarah and Rena were in the dinghy wrestling with another iceberg. They managed to drive it out of way Don Quixote-style after having shown it all corners of the bay. 

We then sailed through Le Mer Straight, recognised as one of the most beautiful parts of the Peninsula because of the tall mountains on both sides of the narrow straight and therefore a must-see on the way south. That afternoon, we did our first continental landing of the trip at Chiloe Point. We did not penetrate deeply into the mainland because the rocks were steep and loose, but at least they were comfortably warm. We decided to do a dinghy cruise through the slushy ice to look at another impressive iceberg graveyard. 

As we are sailing towards Prospect Point, we reflect upon all that we have seen so far. Every day, we think “this is the most beautiful day we have had so far”. We are looking forward to even more “most beautiful” days even further south. 

Lots of love, Rena and Tooske x