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Swimming in the Antarctic Ocean
Deception Island. South Shetlands. Off Antarctic Pennisula.
Well, it's "swimming" (getting most of my body wet) in Telefon Bay. That's me on the left hand side.
In theory, you could swim at any landing. However, the only place I'm aware that anyone did it was at Telefon Bay. They had told us the water temperature was 31.8 degrees F, but I later received a certificate, which listed the water temperature as 32.1. Apparently because of the dissolved salt content, ocean water can get quite a bit below 32 F without freezing.
I had read beforehand (and also after the trip) that "warm spots" (or "warm springs") can sometimes form at certan places inside the Deception Island caldera (called Port Foster), due to extremely mild volcanic activity. Often cruise lines will try to do their landings near those spots, and do "the swim" thing at those locations (I'm guessing the "warm water" at places like that might be somewhere in the 40s F). There did not seem to be any volcanic heating at this location.
The boat in the background is related to the semi-organized swimming activity. They would hold off swimmers from entering the water until there was a boat available and a boatload of prospective swimmers (7, 8, or 9 of us) ready to start undressing. Then we would get in, get out (quickly), quickly throw on some clothing, and immediately get onto that waiting boat for an exclusive, swimmers-only, express trip back to the ship.
The guys in red or orange here are ship's crew. The way there are dressed gives some idea of how cold it was here (the air temperature). However, their dress exaggerates things a bit. They are out longer than any particular group of tourists. Also, they spend their time in the moving boats out on the water, where it probably feels colder than on land (where you are sometimes sheltered from the wind).
Apparently, the name "Antarctic Ocean" is falling out of favor. They now often call it The Southern Ocean.
(26 Nov 2010)
