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The Antarctic tourist ship “Clelia II” struggled in 30-foot seas off the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula; waves breaking over it took out a window in the bridge and damaged communications systems. Video was shot by passengers aboard the “National Geographic Explorer,” which aided the ship during the day.
Video Copyright Fiona Stewart/Garett McIntosh
Chech this out
Mike & Judy, Praying for a safe return for you and all aboard.Strick & Sparkie
awesome video. saw it on the today show this morning. I wish it was longer. Somebody should have made a longer video of this.
Well Mom and Bob, You managed to make the world news this trip! Wishing you safe travels home and I’m so glad I’ll be there when you arrive! Love you both!
i am a producer for abc news, i’m trying to reach someone who knows people who are on the Clelia II. please email me if you know someone on this ship.
thank you!
desiree.adib@abc.com
MOM AND BOB…..CANT WAIT TO SEE YOU BOTH! GLAD YOU ARE OK!
I am a producer with Fox News Channel looking for anyone who has had contact with the passengers or crew members on board, if you do please email me ASAP at Lindsay.Carlton@foxnews.com
Dear Mr. Bowmaster, or whatever your real name is. I just listened to you on the FOX News Video of the ship having trouble off the antarctic. I point to your comment about how VHF communication in this day of modern communication is like two cans and a string. What a pathetic comment, and you should be embarrassed by this statement. It shows obviously that your only purpose on the news show is to criticize others and sensationalize news. As a Licensed Master and Ship Pilot in the United States I can tell for certain that you definitely don’t know what you are talking about. More importantly, I blame the morons who hire you. Just for the record, I’m a huge fan of Fox news. So this stupidity is not just from them, it’s from any news organization who hires people like you. The so called experts! What a joke… Scary part is. I question what’s being fed to me when a so called expert is on discussing an issue I no nothing about.
Pathetic,
Captain Howdy
In reply to Captain Howdy, I think we should cut Mr. Bowermaster a bit of slack. I would be surprised if VHF comm were the only communication system on the ship. They most likely had other longer range systems on board, such as satellite comm or high frequency (HF) radio. My guess is that the wave that broke the windows in the bridge drenched and disabled all the other comm systems. As a Licensed Master and Ship Pilot I’m sure the Captain realizes that VHF range is limited to line-of-sight distances. At 35,000 feet, an aircraft’s VHF range is about 200 miles. The VHF range between ships on the ocean would be considerably less. VHF would be perfectly adequate cruising the intracoastal waterway, but not that useful on the open ocean. And VHF has been around since WWII or longer. If Mr. Bowermaster was criticizing the cruise line for relying on VHF comm, he was wrong. But I suspect that instead of criticizing, he just got a little hyperbolic in trying to explain the Clelia II’s communication problems.
Dave415
I can respect that David and agree… Good point, and I think you probably recognize much of the spin and sensationalizing of the truth that I see. Thanks, and take care…
CH
From someone who experienced the Drake Passage, in similar whether, I absolutely can’t imagine what it must have been like for the passengers. If you haven’t experienced it you can’t imagine the beating your body takes each time it hits one of those swells. I am so thankful everyone is ok and the ship got its engine started again.
I am executive producer with MGI News, LLC – a news production company that feeds news stories and clips to TV stations worldwide. Looking for crew members or passengers of the cruise ship. Please contact me ASAP.
its a pretty scary video.
my husband is on the plancius crossing the drake on the same day . i think he will be glad to be on land.
good luck to all at sea!
Praying for a safe return for my adventurous friend, Rosalie Kess and her friend, Lorece, on board .. your sister Pat is concerned for you … but knowing my strong dear friend, all will be ok … our prayers are with you and all aboard … your trip has made the local news here in Lindenhurst, Long Island .. Awaiting your safe return home with Love, Marie & Hal
thanks David. at least temporarily it appears the “Clelia II” was without any form of communication except for VHF, which we all agree is a very limited form in the midst of a rough Drake Passage, 500 miles south of Argentina. obviously if they’d had options they wouldn’t have spent more than an hour in a risky game of “catch” as the National Geographic Explorer attempted (successful on a 2nd try) to “shoot” them a satellite phone via rocket propulsion. One thing this incident reminds us of is that there is no navy, no coast guard, no police force in Antarctica. Get in trouble there and you either have to take of yourself, or hope that there is another tourist ship somewhere nearby … which in this case, there was. Jon
thanks Marie & Hal … sounds like the ship will be safely returned to Ushuaia soon; let us know what you hear from your friends on board. Jon
Ca. Howdy. You probably never left the harbor
Have a safe return Dad and Dorothy!! Can’t wait to hear the story……..
To “Captain Howdy” :
If this is your first clue that you shouldn’t trust Fox News, then you have many
surprises waiting for you. Fox News is not news, it’s a propaganda machine.
You ought to read the BBC website some time, if you want something which is
closer to what could be called “truth”.
Bowermaster may have been coached by someone on Fox News to exaggerate
the lack of range of VHF ( Fox News is famous for such exaggerations, it’s called “the ratings game”) but rest assured that Bowermaster, who is an excellent writer, DOES know what he’s talking about. Whereas you come off like just another redneck idiot. Do the world a favor and don’t breed, son.
I hope some of the passengers on the Celia II have some videos to post. It would be interesting to see what it was like from their perspective. I crossed Drakes Passage 6 times while serving on an icebreaker. During the last crossing we hit 100 foot seas and were rolling thru 103 degrees of arc. At 105 degrees the ship would have rolled over. I would have loved to have had a video of my own.
I just noticed a typo in the email address of my last posting. I would love it if someone could send me a video clip example of the massive waves that can occur in Drakes Passage – or to hear stories of their own experiences.
Why is this news? What kind of idiot takes an antarctic sea tour? Gilligan? Skipper? Mr. & Mrs Howell?? I sure hope my tax dollars aren’t involved in rescuing the flotsam and jetsam of the Darwin Awards.