Enterprise Island, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 1 – an island in Wilhelmina Bay on the west side of Graham Land that was home to many whale oil processing ships in the early 1900s and has the wreck of the SS Guvernøren, a whale factory ship that caught fire in 1915 and was sunk in place to put out the fire in the hold; here was an unusually carved, corrugated iceberg
From Wilhelmina Bay we sailed mid-day to reach an anchorage off Enterprise Island. The island, 2.5 kilometers (1.6 miles) long, is located off the Danco coast of Graham Land in the north of the Antarctic Peninsula (in Wilhelmina Bay off the northern end of Nansen Island). Enterprise Island was charted during the Belgian Antarctic Expedition under Adrien de Gerlache in 1898, and the two islands – Elephant Island and Nansen Island – were charted together as one feature and named “Ile Nansen”. It was then known to whalers who operated in this region in the 1900s. whose enterprise led the United Kingdom Antarctic Place-names Committee to commemorate their enterprise with the eponymous name for the island. This area also features the wreck of the SS Guvernøren, a whale factory ship that caught fire in 1915. Today, the ship’s bow and bridge are above water, reclaimed by nature, and colonized by Antarctic Terns.
Enterprise Island, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 2 – another perspective of the unusually carved, corrugated icebergEnterprise Island, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 3Enterprise Island, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 4 — the wreck of the SS Guvernøren with two contemporary sailing yachts moored alongside after sailing to the Antarctic Peninsula from southern Argentina (one ship is from Argentina, the other is Russian)
“The GUVERNØREN was shipwrecked back in 1915 on January 27th after she caught on fire during a crew party, where the story goes that someone bumped a burning lantern off a table. A more comprehensive story is that the crew were celebrating a successful 1914-15 whaling season on the Antarctic peninsula with 5,050 cubic meters [178,339 cubic feet] of whale oil stored in her hull. Once she did catch fire all attempts to put the fire out failed, which included them firing explosive harpoons into the hull to partially sink her so that the ocean would put the fire out in order to save the cargo. However, all the cargo was lost BUT none of the 83 crew lost their lives, which is quite remarkable considering the remote area.” — https://steemit.com/history/@thomasjmitchell/guvernoren-shipwreck-at-enterprise-island
Enterprise Island, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 5Enterprise Island, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 6 – much of the oil processing equipment remains in place on the foredeck of the partially sunken SS GuvernørenEnterprise Island, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 7Enterprise Island, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 8 – two water boats used to collect fresh water dripping off the icebergs for use in processing the whales on the whale oil factory shipsEnterprise Island, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 9 – a close up of the water boats used to collect fresh waterEnterprise Island, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 10 – a fresh mushroom near the water boatsEnterprise Island, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 11 – red colored sea kelp at the base of the island under a canopy of snowEnterprise Island, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 12 – many of the icebergs around the island showed heavy wave and weather erosionEnterprise Island, Antarctic Peninsula, Antarctica, photograph # 13 – a stunning cornice, a reminder to downhill skiers of what we are missing sitting in a Zodiac and absorbing the fabulous scenery
Where in the world is Riccardo? 