The entry into Deception Island’s caldera is through a 180 m narrow passage called “Neptune’s Bellows”. It didn’t seem that narrow to me, but being rocked and rolled the way we were, I can imagine it was more difficult than it looked. Kudos to the captain, Jeremy Kingston of the UK and his crew, who like pros, made it look easy.

Even though we were sheltered by the caldera now, the sea was still choppy with winds at 35 knots. By comparison, winds outside the caldera were 65 knots.

Safely inside, we then made our way to Port Foster, where we could see the “Sea Wolf”, a ship wrecked here in the 1900’s. This island was a whaling station back in those dark days of whaling, between 1906 and 1930.

We sailed by Whaler’s Bay, which was destroyed by volcanic eruption, and on to Telefon Bay, where a short 45 min. landing was planned and successful.

After spending the day in relative comfort, it was time to leave Deception Island and start heading through the Drake Passage again. But first, we attempted a stop at Smith Island, but the weather just wasn’t letting up, so again no landing was possible. Mother Nature was showing how tough she can be.

This post is part of a 10-post series of my adventures on the White Continent.

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