
The Stranding of the MV Shokalskiy - myth_drannon
https://idlewords.com/2019/07/the_stranding_of_the_mv_shokalskiy.htm
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gambiting
That was a fascinating read, thanks for sharing. It's nice to be reminded that
even though the entire world feels accessible, there are still wild places
where you can die not due to violence from other people but just because the
harshness of the environment.

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LeifCarrotson
That's surprising? I was more surprised that anyone had the audacity to bring
their children to the place, or that an elderly, limited mobility retiree
would think it would be a good idea to go sightseeing there.

Remember, the thing that makes this place memorable is the epic, heroic
struggle of the men who, one century ago, had to eat every calorie contained
in their sled dogs to avoid starvation, and two of those three did not
survive.

Humans are fragile, tiny, sensitive, and weak. We're good at building safe
habitats for ourselves, but outside of those prepared environments the
universe is not safe.

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idlewords
Most of the people who go on sea voyages to this side of Antarctica are
retirees (because it's expensive and you need five or six weeks of free time),
and they do perfectly well for themselves. The physically hardest thing about
modern Antarctic travel is Zodiac landings.

My issue with bringing kids is more about their inability to consensually
weigh the risks than their physical capacity.

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cardiffspaceman
The Antarctic continent as a whole has a range of possibilities for the
traveler. I was there in January on a "regular cruise ship" (Celebrity
Eclipse) that passed along the West coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Muster
drill on the first day (sailing out of Buenos Aires) had a different feature,
an explanation of the special evacuation gear that would be available in case
we had an extremely sudden need to stay warm outdoors. We did not get out of
the ship in Antarctica, because the conservation group that regulates this
rules that ships the size of Eclipse cannot disembark passengers onto
Antarctica. One can always choose cruises from several other cruise lines that
have ca 200 passenger capacity. These ships drop anchor and allow passengers
to kayak over, or else take a leisurely Zodiac ride. There might even be a
polar plunge. And finally, there are a handful, or more, Russian-made and
Russian-crewed ships available which range to the other shores besides the
ostensibly friendly Peninsular coast. One or two of these has a small hangar
for really small helicopters. I could provide more detail but I'm not a travel
agent and what I want to do is give an idea of how "normal" it is to go to
Antarctica and do your wedding on an ice floe.

This research expedition cruise was not the normal deal in the tourism
industry.

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thinkingkong
Just finished reading “Endurance” for the first time. If this is appealing to
you Id highly suggest grabbing a copy.

