March 6th, 2014. 72 degrees south, speed 5 knots, -28 or less degrees celsius with wind chill.

By Nico Edwards.

It is dark and stormy, with snow blowing straight at us and we are driving blindly into pack ice. The waves seem to be growing dramatically every minute. The guy at the bow is shouting instructions and warnings back to another guy at the halfway mark, who runs across the icy deck towards the helm to tell us to go “hard to starboard!” Just as we begin turning, we see a piece of ice the size of a school bus passing along our port side, grinding along the hull as it goes. Lots of warning….and to top that off, we have to motor ahead at 3+ knots if we even remotely hope to be able to control the direction of the boat. Infinity weighs 160 tons, so even going slow it takes forever to stop. Slamming into an iceberg is like slamming into solid stone, at any speed something has to give, and it’s not likely to be the stone. The quantity of ice in the surrounding water is increasing rapidly, along with the size. Andy, our Scottish watch leader, keeps adding speed, as we lose the ability to hold course. All the while massive chunks slide past on either side. In this sobering atmosphere, Andy starts talking about “real adventure” and how hard it is to find these days.

Having lived on the high seas for the last 20 odd years, I can’t think of anyone I would rather have leading this madness then Capt. Clem. Though as he gets to the helm, even he seems a bit unnerved by the situation. “Why didn’t anyone get me fucking sooner! …I can’t hear you clearly! None of this American nuzzle buzzle. There’s a solid wall of pack ice dead ahead! Can’t you see that! That’s not water, that’s ice!” The full force of the storm has yet to arrive and we’re still 30 miles off from our intended anchorage.

As I make my way on deck the next day, I find the situation has deteriorated further. Our Canadian Electrician, David Bowie (real name) is at the bow screaming back to the helm “hard to port!” Just as a real hull cruncher passes with not much more than two feet to spare. All around us is thick pancake ice and off in the distance is a sheer wall of pack ice that we seem to be heading directly for. We soon discover that the anchorage area is socked in with ice and we have no place that is protected to anchor. It is at this point that the full force of the storm arrives. Not the 20 knot peripheral system we were hoping for at this latitude, but an 80+ knot force 12 hurricane of ice with wind gusts exceeding 160 kpm. We have no choice but to ride it out on the open ocean, but we have to quickly get away from the large fields of ice.  

It is so cold that ocean spray turns to shards of ice before it hits the deck. The waves have grown to mountains of water exceeding 18 meters tall from trough to crest. An interesting site few of us have ever seen, they are breaking on themselves in the open ocean, as if they were being pushed up by a reef or the shore. Going on watch is a sobering experience. It’s less of an active navigating experience and more of what one crew member termed “riding space mountain for three hours”.

It’s so cold, that our diesel has begun to freeze in the tanks, and from the white smoke the engine is emitting, we suspect our fuel is contaminated with seawater. We are not sure how the water made its way into our tanks, but our engine is cutting in and out and were losing fuel injectors we have no replacements for. 

To make matters worse, the waves crashing onto the bow are so strong they have bent back the steel anchor plate, allowing water into the forward anchor locker. Infinity has taken on so much water, her bow is riding noticeable lower in the water, and she’s digging ever deeper into the waves.

The engine throttled up full, we are lurching in horrible, skyward-thrusting, gut-wrenching circles. Due to the power of the wind though, we seem to be going backwards. We have to harness ourselves in and bear-hug something solid, or we’ll be ripped off the helm. If we go overboard, we’ll be dead before the person next to us realizes we are gone. 

Every couple of hours, we are forced to shut off the engine so we can clean out the rapidly clogging fuel filter. It is during one of these cleanings, the boat drifting at the mercy of the wind and waves, giant mountains of white capped waves cresting and breaking on and around us, that we spot a large iceberg, directly in the path the waves are taking us.  Fuel filter quickly back in place, and we are trying to restart the engine, before we get dashed against the ice. The starter turns and turns, but the engine refuses to catch. For what feels like forever, it just turns, straining the battery. It is in this moment, that we feel the most alive. This is what we are truly after. As we hang on for our lives, in the middle of the most dramatic storm we have ever seen, with front row seats to one of the greatest natural spectacles on earth, we have collectively reached a state of transcendent ecstasy. We’re in a giant universe of forces that are out of our control and we’re feeling very small. 

The engine catches and we apply the throttle, holding our breaths as the boat slowly increases the distance between us and the berg. We will ride space mountain for two days.

Follow their adventures online.

The post The hurricane of ice in the Ross Sea appeared first on PANTHALASSA.

« Where everything happens at the touch of a button and requires a computer science degree to understand and repair, Infinity’s working parts are manual, simple, laborious, greasy and somewhat comprehensible. » 36,7 meters-long, Infinity have properties that make it exceptional for a polar vessel. We met Northern California-based director and filmmaker Nico Edwards, author of ‘Sea Gypsies: The Far Side of the World’, his first feature. The movie seeks to tell the ambitious journey of a group of modern seafaring gypsies across the Pacific Ocean. « Captain Clemens Gabriel has transformed Infinity into a sea tribe, comprised of crew from all over the world» he said. « Water, trees, dusk, mountains, sunrise and dramatically bad weather are some of the strongest catalysts for awe. So along with extreme pest control, the voyage is a quest for awe, and for the sheer joy of it. » So, please, get onboard this hand-built sailboat described as a ‘bunker that floats’…

Tell us a bit about Infinity, an environmentally friendly hand-built sailboat… 

Though by all outward appearance, these voyages appear to be exercises in reckless abandon, and while it is true that infinity was not designed to travel through ice, Infinity is an incredibly tough boat made of ferrocement. She was constructed in 1977 in Oakland CA, and is believed to be the largest ferrocement yacht ever built, meaning she’s made of metal reinforced concrete and is basically a bunker that floats. Ferrocement, a well tested and long practiced form of boat construction, no longer in fashion due to its downsides of being extremely labor intensive during construction and heavy compared to fiberglass or aluminum, does have properties that make it exceptional for a polar vessel, such as incredible toughness, impact resistance and strength in any temperature. In the Ross Sea, Infinity made impact with a large number of icebergs without so much as a scratch. Infinity is also very green, as her sails are recycled from super yachts, and sowed up to fit. She also has a very large solar array, which provides for all her electrical needs as well. Right now, she is also a vegan ship, trying her utmost to source all foods locally.

Sailors, a captain, an electrician, a carpenter, and filmmakers… Most of you are, above all, adventurers with a taste for the extreme…

Infinity seems to be a magnet for those who just don’t fit in anywhere in particular, mainstream societies cast offs. A rotating group of wanderers, they come together on Infinity as a sort of ocean going tribe, then they head off across the globe to earn a living for a while doing various things. We have carpenters, surveyors, electricians, professional sailors, and even a former NASA rocket scientist, but they always seem to return to Infinity just as soon as they are able. 

When did you first have the -crazy- idea of the « Sea Gypsies » project? 

In 2011, well ensconced in a little padded gray cubicle, in a nondescript office park on the side of a generic highway in Silicon Valley, I was growing grim about the mouth. The 3 hour-commute and job that would most likely be replaced by an algorithm in a few years was not providing much in the way of stimulation. So one day, I took stock of the situation, and having nothing in particular to interest me on shore, I decided I would sail about a little and see the watery parts of the world.

Before I left, I did the first thing that anyone nowadays would do… I googled my options. This led me to a website called FindACrew.org, which connects crew looking for boats, to boats looking for crew. Opportunities abound for all skill levels, from landlubbers to salty sea dogs. This is how I came across Infinity. I was looking to learn to sail and she looked like a learning boat. By this I mean, that unlike the more modern, technologically advanced sailboats of our day, where everything happens at the touch of a button and requires a computer science degree to understand and repair, Infinity’s working parts are manual, simple, laborious, greasy and somewhat comprehensible. 

I joined the boat in Singapore in early 2012 and we sailed through the Malacca Straight into Malaysia, all the way up to the Andaman coast of Thailand. This was probably the most memorable 5 months of my almost 30 years of life. The time machine slowed to a crawl as it gorged on the abundant unknown. Roughly a year after leaving the boat, I was back in the US, plugging along, when out of the blue one night I get a call from Captain Clem. He says the boat is infested with tropical termites he can’t get rid of, and he heard that if he dropped the temp of the boat below freezing for 3 days it would serve as an environmentally friendly, yet extreme form of pest control. To get the boat below freezing for such a long time, he had it in his mind to make a pacific crossing from New Zealand to Patagonia, with a visit to Antarctica, and wanted to know if I might like to join in and video the experience. The decision seemed brash, as he intended to start the 15,000 mile voyage in “a couple of days”. I quickly agreed to go, and informed him I would join the boat as soon as I had sold my possessions and put my affairs in order.

The plan had more than a touch of madness to it, due to Infinity not being at all designed or equipped with cold weather in mind. I was pretty sure Infinity did not have any heaters, insulation, nor did the main saloon have a door to keep the outside, outside. I looked at an atlas and tallied up my frequent flier miles (hard earned through years of signing up for credit cards solely for the bonus miles) and schemed up a way to meet the boat in route. A couple weeks later and I would be rejoining Infinity on the island of Trukk, in The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). Our path would lead south-ish, meandering down the international date line, to New Zealand before heading east. It would cover over 15,000 nautical miles and was expected to take roughly 10 months.

You’re currently travelling on 8,000 miles across the Pacific ocean, from New Zealand to Patagonia, with a stop in Antarctica. What are your motivations, intentions, and goals?Just « for the sheer joy of it »?

Awe has the power to diminish the emphasis on the individual self, encouraging people to forgo strict self-interest, to work towards improving the world around them. Research conducted in the 1960’s on awe or transcendent ecstasy found that the most common triggers come from nature. Water, trees, dusk, mountains, sunrise and dramatically bad weather are some of the strongest catalysts for awe. So along with extreme pest control, the voyage is a quest for awe, and for the sheer joy of it. 

How is life organized onboard? Does everyone has duties and a daily schedule?

Though perpetually exploring, daily life onboard consists mainly of sailing and maintaining the boat and crew. The rhythm of life onboard reflects the necessities of a sailing vessel. Cleaning the boat, navigating an approximate course, raising sails, keeping the boat clean, maintaining an approximate course, oiling, greasing, scraping, scrubbing, disinfecting, cleaning, lowering sails, killing bugs, and of course… cleaning. Crew join up with every level of skill, and the experience they gain depends on what they seek from their time aboard. Some join up with the intention of becoming professional sailors or some already are and just want a change of pace. Everyone contributes, everyone learns something, and yes, lots and lots of work, mostly in schedules. 

« What can be found in abundance on board is blood, sweat, enthusiasm, risk tolerance, disdain for authority, and an ample supply of alcohol,» says the voiceover of your film entitled « Sea Gypsies: The Far Side of The World ». Does it sum up your balance onboard?

Pretty much, its a whole lot of work just to keep it going. A boat is a delicate structure of rapidly decaying materials, floating atop and constantly being bathed/marinated in, a caustic brine of destruction. They are holes in the water in which people throw money in, never to be seen again. Unless you’re really hardworking and crafty, up to but not necessarily over the point of conniving, a boat owner can expect to part with upwards of 10% of their boats value per year in upkeep costs. To avoid the constant shelling out of cash, one has to do all the work oneself… or have volunteers/suckers do it. This voyage being no exception, Clem maximizes the blood sweat and toil of his crew. 

The movie tells the ambitious journey of a group of modern seafaring gypsies across the Pacific Ocean. Were you prepared to the level of adrenaline you’ve been experiencing? 

I think for the most part people were prepared for a lot, but the massive hurricane of ice in the Ross Sea was a whole lot more than we expected and we’re pretty lucky to be alive in all honesty. I think if we did the trip 3 times, one of those times we would not have made it… at least. When help is 3 weeks or more away, you hope that you just die as quick and painlessly as possible. When you’re alone at sea, you feel like anything and everything is possible. It’s also a lot like groundhog day when you don’t see land for months at a time, you start to think you might be trapped in purgatory. 

What’s next now?

I head back to the boat in one months time, and we plan on heading North, attempting to sail further north than anyone in history. Following the two warmest Arctic summers on record, the sailing vessel Infinity will tackle the formidable Northwest Passage, attempt to reach the Northernmost inhabited settlement on the planet, aptly named Alert. More than just breaking a record, reaching this normally icebound settlement at the tip of Ellesmere Island, will be a stark warning to the world. To reach Alert at 82° latitude, Infinity will traverse through Nares Strait, a narrow channel of fierce currents and rapidly moving mountains of ice at the height of summer. Along the way, the ship and crew will battle severe storms, avoid marauding icebergs and hungry polar bears, and explore a part of the world that is rarely seen. This is the most dangerous maritime route in the world; more people have been to the top of Mt Everest than have successfully taken a sailing vessel through the Northwest Passage, and no one has ever sailed this far north. The full route will be over 15,000 miles and take 10 months from Tonga to Greenland. The expedition begins Nov 2017.

Follow their adventure online.

The post Sea Gypsies, the far side of the world appeared first on PANTHALASSA.

In recent years, Antarctica has shown signs of rapid atmospheric and ocean warming.

Scientists have discovered that thousands of blue lakes of melt water have formed on the surface of Antarctica’s glaciers. 

Scientists from the British Antarctic Survey predict that a massive chunk of glacier ice belonging to the Larsen barrier, situated on the West coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, the northernmost part of the mainland of Antarctica, could collapse. In recent years, it has shown signs of rapid atmospheric and ocean warming. This large piece of ice measures around 50,000 km² (20,000 square miles), and is about to fall down. 

On the ice sheets of East Antarctica, thousands of strange blue lakes are appearing, a phenomenon that scares scientists specialized in climate change. »[East Antarctic is] the part of the continent where people have for quite a long time assumed that it’s relatively stable,« said glaciologist Stewart Jamieson from Durham University to The Washington Post. These large portions of melted ice show that the places said to be « safe » are not sheltered from danger anymore. If the ice sheets keep on melting, we could witness rising sea levels, causing the sinking of islands in the Pacific ocean. Kiribati and Palaos are directly threatened and could be swallowed by rising sea levels.

Between 2000 and 2013, nearly 8,000 of these supraglacial lakes have formed on the surface of the ice sheets in East Antarctica, and on the slender glaciers that stretch out into the ocean. Although these lakes disappear through refreezing, rain vertically through the floating ice, or overflow into rivers on the surface that drain into the ice below, they could have serious consequences for the stability of the entire ice shelf. They could weaken the structure of the ice sheets and ice shelves, making it more likely to fracture and break apart. « That injection of cold fresh water into salty water can then create tornado-like underwater flow patterns at the submerged glacier front that cause further ice loss.« 

Such lakes has led to melting of glaciers in Greenland between 2011 and 2014, where 1 trillion metric tons of ice have melted. East Antarctica’s ice had not been affected by global warning so far, scientists thought. The appearance of such lakes thus threatens the stability of the largest ice mass on Earth and is directly linked to the historic levels of rising temperatures. With July 2016 being confirmed as the world’s hottest month, and if global climate warning continues in the future, we can expect the size and number of these supraglacial lakes to increase. 

Svalbard #33, 60” x 90”, Soft Pastel on Paper, 2014
Courtesy of the artist Zaria Forman

Over the years, many artists have been spreading messages and trying to bring awareness about environmentalism and climate change to a wider audience. NYC-based artist and TED speaker Zaria Forman has been putting this issue on the spotlight through her art. In 2012, she led an Arctic expedition up the northwest coast of Greenland, documenting the spectacular views, and using her pastel drawings as a tool for climate change activism. She’s recently been part of our Panthalassa official launch and exhibition in Guéthary (France) to discuss the urgency of climate change in a hopeful and significant way. Through her large scale pastel drawings, Zaria documents Earth’s shifting landscape and the effects of progressive climate change.

Read our interview with Zaria Forman 

The post Dazzling and worrying blue lakes in Antarctica appeared first on PANTHALASSA.

On vacation in the Antarctic Peninsula in December 2014, designer and filmmaker Alex Cornell captured one iceberg in particular: A bright blue iceberg with a glassy surface that had flipped over.

These rare shots capture the seldom-seen underside of an iceberg in an icy south polar region off the peninsula. »Everything I was seeing was pretty exciting,” explained Cornell to Smithsonian magazine while exploring Cierva Coven. “This particular iceberg at the time kind of blended in with all the crazy stuff we were seeing.”

Generally covered in snow, only 10% on an iceberg is usually visible above water.  According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, »When glacier ice becomes extremely dense, the ice absorbs a small amount of red light, leaving a bluish tint in the reflected light, which is what we see.”

Photography by Alex Cornell

The post Rare sight: An iceberg flipped over appeared first on PANTHALASSA.

At first you feel at mercy to the elements and then, over a period of time, the expanse of the ocean brings a certain feeling of comfort.

New Zealand Media Artist Joe Michael defines himself as an explorer, visual artist and photographer who is always trying to push the boundaries of the technology. His practice involves the magic balance of technology and fine artistry. »I have a passion for philosophy, and seek to capture the rare and sublime in the natural world.«  We met the man who has worked with motion control techniques on some of the biggest films of our generation building 3D time-lapse rings, and creating 360-degree cinema experience on Peter Jackson’s »The Hobbit«. »What drives me is usually just a simple idea, I try not to limit that idea by what may be available technology-wise, which usually leads to a little experimentation and learning.« We spoke about his recent expedition to Antarctica where he photographically mapped icebergs.

When you were a young kid, what did you dream of?

I dreamt of explorers and adventures – for some reason I was obsessed with books on the continent of Africa. I grew up in a rural area in the southern part of New Zealand and that place still stays with me when I travel. Growing up in a rural area, the world around you seems so huge, you don’t feel limited to the confines of a house or apartment as you sometimes do in the city. In the country, it was safe for me to roam the hills late into the evening. I think this feeling has stayed with me into my adult years as I seek new adventures and spend time with nature.

How have you been introduced to photography?

I was introduced to photography at quite a young age by my uncle. He was an interesting guy who travelled a lot and I was inspired by the pictures I saw of his trips to India and other parts of Asia. But it wasn’t till my late 20’s that I really started committing time to learning the art of photography. These days I’m pretty addicted. I love the quiet moments I experience when I’m in the zone photographing something. I’m also really excited about the progression in photographic technology that we are experiencing right now. It is an exciting time.

How would you describe your style of photography?

I love balance and symmetry. I also love colour. Photography helps me describe the world I live in, when no words are available. It helps me to get up for sunrise, go out at night to experience the stars and travel in the endless ocean. I tend to get a little obsessed when I see an image or series that might be interesting and will go to great lengths to capture that. 

You recently spent few weeks in Antarctica. How did you get the idea of exploring such a wild immensity? 

I grew up in the Southern Alps of New Zealand and became hooked on photographing the remote scenic landscapes there. I love how small I feel when I’m out in the wilderness with my photography or digital artworks. A friend of mine spoke about the remote environment of Antarctica. I became fixated on its beauty and how to translate this huge, largely untouched environment into an urban setting. So I decided I would go there, photograph and film the icebergs, then map them onto buildings that were as big and majestic as them, creating an immersive art experience, a cinematic collision of nature and architecture.

What was it like to find yourself in, I quote your words, »an environment where humans feel totally out of place and out of context«?

Humans have an interesting relationship with the planet which we live on. In the last century the population has exploded.  We’re just not treating the place as we should. It’s nice to experience places on the planet where humans are not the dominant species, and this is very evident in Antarctica. It’s beautiful and humbling to experience the wildlife in Antarctica. The whales in particular are so in tune and at one with the place. 

Tell us more about this unique relationship you built with the ocean while you were there

New Zealand is an island nation, so the ocean is a familiar place to play and spend time, particularly in summer, but before sailing to Antarctica I had not been at sea for any extended period of time. I’d have to say the experience was quite enlightening.  Experiencing the deep blue of the ocean for the first time was incredible. At first you feel at mercy to the elements and then, over a period of time the expanse of the ocean brings a certain feeling of comfort. Your senses really heighten. The simplicity of seeing the occasional bird fly through the air or a pod of dolphins becomes quite exciting and the whales… wow.. I find it hard to put into words. They have to be some of the most amazing creatures that exist on this planet. 

You gave names to icebergs and giant blocks of ice: »Valentine«, »Nelson«, »Winston«, »Lincoln«, »Ernest«. Why?

Initially, it was just a way to remember the icebergs we were photographically mapping. The names are mostly christian names of people I admire. It’s been a surprisingly good method of categorisation. As we gathered the audio recordings and motion pictures of the different icebergs we began to see their personalities. The audio recordings we gathered were especially interesting. We used a variety of different microphones, hydrophones and contact microphones to capture their personalities. Some totally unexpected and interesting audio was captured and will become part of the installation. It’s nice to reference them as friends because they have become dear to me.   

Do you have a specific story you want to share with us? 

One of my favourite moments was travelling across the bay at Skontorp Cove. We were travelling in a small inflatable across the bay ready to explore the glacier above. One of the whales in the area had a bit of a curiosity for us. It would twist on its side with its fin in the air so it could put its eye just out of the water to see us as it circled around the boat. As we were admiring this, the whale turned sharply and headed directly for our small boat and swam just a meter or so underneath us. The way in which this enormous whale travelled with such silence and grace was insane. It was one of the most exciting things I have ever witnessed.

One of your major works is with motion control techniques on Peter Jackson’s »The Hobbit«. Of what are you the most proud so far?

Working on some of the biggest films of our generation was an exciting experience, I was lucky to share that with some incredible people but I’m most proud of the projects I’ve done since then. The 24 hour time-lapse project dark cloud / white light was more challenging than anything I had done previously, and I learn’t a lot in the process. As long as I have a camera in my hand I’m happy – I feel blessed that I’m able to able to earn a living doing what I love. 

What are your next plans?

This Antarctica project will take me a few years to complete but there’s quite a few other projects to keep me busy in the mean time. I believe you may have seen a few articles on the Luminosity project I did recently. They have been quite popular. More of that to come! There’s also another gallery on my website which has a series of long exposures from the drake passage »ocean is stillness«

All photos ©Joe Michael

The post Antarctica by Joe Michael appeared first on PANTHALASSA.