Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 12/29/2010 - 08:19
Forums
Oden Antarctic Expedition 2010

Dear Ms.Wotkys, I am a student of Mrs.Waldecks 4th grade class.And I live in Sauquoit NY.I had some questions for you if you dont mind.

1 How many penguins have you seen so far? 2 Do you like are flag? 3 How cold is it now? 4How long did it take to get to Antartica?

Thank You!!! From:Lilly

Wed, 01/05/2011 - 14:51

Anne Marie Wotkyns

Hi Lilly! Thank you for following along with our Oden Antarctic Expedition. Let me anser some of your questions:1) I have seen at least 150 Adelie penguins from Dec. 13 through today (Dec. 29) We see them on the ice floes we cruise by and on the ice floes we stop and tie up to to do out ice stations. They are very curious and seem to come investigate the big ship in their territory, as well as our backpacks and science equipment we have out on the ice. They will come to about 3 -4 meters close to you, then stop and not come closer. I have also seen about 25 emperor penguins. They generally stay farther away, except the one juvenile we had who followed us around on out first 24 hour ice station.
2)I like all the flags that the different classes decorated. Your class flag is special because it came all the way from New York! I'll be flying them more, and posting more pictures of all the flags. Keep checking my journal page!
3) Today it was a very warm day. Right around 0 Celcius - that's 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Often it is -3 or -4 Celcius. It often feels colder because the wind is usually blowing here - or on deck you get the wind moving by as the ship moves.
4)We left Punta Arenas, Chile on Dec. 9 and on Dec. 14 we were seeing icebergs. We were tecnically in the Antarctic when we crossed 66*33' South Latitude mid-day on Dec. 14, so it took 5 days of sailing. We are now sailing south-west from Latitude 73*21' South and 115*05'W. We are basically following the edge of the ocean's continental slope, about 60 miles out to sea from the actual land, sailing toward McMurdo Station, Antarctica.
Keep reading the journals and asking questions! Thanks!