January 3 continued... -- What luck!

Today was living proof that if you don't put yourself out there, you'll never know what opportunities you might miss. I was hanging out on the bridge and overheard our expedition leader Brad talking to one of the zodiac drivers about the film crew that is working on board. [Polar Cap Productions are working on a film called "Antarctic Challenge" about the effects of global warming on the Antarctic.] They were talking about the film crew getting their own zodiac for the entire afternoon and I just decided it couldn't hurt to ask about getting into that zodiac! So ask I did, and Brad told me to approach the film crew th emselves to see if they would mind having me along.

Well I walked past the producer's door about 12 times before I found the courage to knock, and what do you know, he was actually happy to bring me along! I met the rest of the crew right before we headed out for a three and a half hour zodiac cruise, and I was named their 'Radiation Protection Technician' as I was the one who remembered sunscreen. We made anchor at Foyn Harbour, an anchorage between Nansen and Enterprise Islands in Wilhelmina Bay, off the coast of Graham Land. We got to visit the wreck of an old whaling ship which now seems to be a site for nesting Antarctic Terns. The whale oil on the ship had caught on fire and so the captain decided to run it aground before it sunk.

We had so much time on the water!!! Niklas was our driver and we got so close to some massive tabular icebergs. I was able to get some amazing shots. It was such a wonderful experience and the film crew were so friendly and took me in right away. I'm just continuously amazed at how when I just put myself out there, great things happen!