CHARLESTON. W.Va. — As bucket list items go, Scott Briscoe of Danville, W.Va. just scratched a big one off the list. He recently completed a nearly two week adventure which included five days in Antarctica.
“It was a chance to finish off a visit to all seven continents,” Briscoe said in a conversation this past weekend on West Virginia Outdoors.
He actually intended to complete the seven continental visits by the time he was 50, but the Antarctica trip was delayed two years by Covid. However, it’s done now and the memories are cemented forever.
Briscoe booked passage on a cruise to the bottom of the earth with a Norwegian company. But unlike most cruise ships, this one was not entertainment centered. This was aboard a much smaller research type vessel. He was among 300 passengers to make the voyage which included more than one pass though the dreaded Drake Passage.
“It’s popularly known as the most turbulent body of water on the planet. I’ve been on cruises before, but I’ve never been on a cruise like this where the ship is moving up and down and side to side. The boat is rocking the whole way for two days,” he explained.
Briscoe and his companions got more than their money’s worth in the Drake Passage. After passing through they learned a passenger was engaged in a life threatening medical emergency. Therefore the ship had to return to Argentina–meaning they had to travel back through the same stretch of rough water twice more.
“Most people stay in their cabin those days. I popped a Dramamine the moment I felt seasick and I was good,” Briscoe said.
The first site of Antarctica was Deception Island which rose out of the mist as passengers stood on deck and waited for their first glimpse. A volcano erupted millions of years ago to form the unique island and bay. It was one of several islands the ship navigated until it arrived at the mainland.
“You want to choose a smaller ship to go to Antarctica because they can make it through the glaciers and icebergs and get closer to land. But they can only get so close and then we jumped on these little Zodiac boats, which are kind of like a whitewater raft here in West Virginia. That’s what we used to go on shore every day,” he explained.
The Zodiac boats were available for a ride to the land or you could ride up and down the coast and check out interesting and fascinating sites. The ship also offered special excursions daily, but only for a limited number of passengers. A lottery was drawn daily for each excursion. Briscoe won a lottery draw for snowshoe hiking on the mainland and kayaking in the waters just off shore. He didn’t get drawn for overnight camping on the mainland, which he somewhat regretted.
“It’s summertime and it’s the best weather and it’s daylight 24/7,” he said.
His first excursion was on the snowshoes where he trudged to the top of a mountain and unfurled his flag bearing the Flying WV Mountaineer logo. He toted the artifact in a jacket pocket from Boone County all the way to the bottom of the earth for the photo op.
“I was mighty proud of that,” he laughed.
There were penguins galore on the mainland. The penguins have no predators and know no fear. Therefore they are naturally curious when humans show up.
“There’s a hard and fast rule that you’re not allowed to touch a penguin. In fact, you’re required to stay at least five feet away from them at all times. That’s hard when they are coming right at you all curious and wanting to investigate,” Briscoe explained.
He and others had to use some fancy shuffling and footwork to keep social distance rules in place between themselves and the vast number of penguins. Also on the island, although not nearly as abundant, were seals and walrus. The food chain was completed with whales just off shore.
“It was a blast because they let us snowshoe over a crest to an area where you don’t even see the cruise ship. Everywhere you look, 360 degrees, it’s just these majestic, snow covered mountains. When you get away from the other passengers, it’s the most silence I’ve ever experienced.” He said.
Briscoe’s second lottery draw was a kayak excursion.
“Fortunately I’m a regular kayaker in the rivers of Boone County, so I know how to kayak, this was just a different environment,” he said.
Each person was partnered with a second passenger to run the two man kayaks through the crystal clear water.
“You can see the bottom where we went and it was maybe 20 to 30 feet deep. The water was crystal clear and you could see the penguins swimming underneath us and leaping out of the water near our kayaks,” he said.
Tour organizers took great care to leave no trace. Before passengers could leave for the mainland all gear had to be thoroughly vacuumed to remove any potential seeds or other items which might inadvertently introduce some kind of invasive to the region. When the passengers returned from an excursion they were also required to go through a boot washer to remove any contaminants picked up on the mainland.
Although not a luxury cruise, Briscoe said it wasn’t a drag by any stretch regardless of your skill level.
“This was much more of an educational tour than a luxury cruise, but the ship was still amazing. They had great amenities, but they focused much more on the education aspects of Antarctica,” he said.