Hardwear Sessions

Around 3 a.m. all of the Explorer's passengers -- plus some crew, though minus the captain and a dozen staff who would stay on board for several hours more -- were put into the ship's lifeboats and Zodiacs. They were in the midst of a 19-day tour of South Georgia Island and the Antarctic Peninsula. Twelve miles south of King George Island it was still dark, the air temperature in the low 30s (F), water temperature a degree or two below freezing.

As part of the Endeavor's staff, representing National Geographic on-board during a month of touring the Antarctic Peninsula region and simultaneously scouting an upcoming sea kayak expedition here, I was awoken at 3:30 by Expedition Leader Tim Soper. A hastily prepared staff meeting announced we were steaming to the location of the Explorer, followed by the big, 700-passenger Norwegian tour ship the Norde Norge. The Norwegian ship would be the coordinating rescue boat, since it had room onboard to accommodate survivors. A Brazilian navy ship and Chilean helicopter were also en route.

We reached the line of orange lifeboats and black Zodiacs shortly before 7 a.m. Passengers in each boat were wet, appeared stunned, obviously moved by spotting the rescue ships headed their way.

According to one of the Explorer's crew, the ship had apparently hit something -- most likely an iceberg -- which made a fist-sized hole in the hull. There may have been another hole. Explorer was the very first tour boat to operate in Antarctica, built in the 1960s by expedition tourism veteran Lars-Erik Lindblad and was the very first tour boat to bring tourists to Antarctica. It survived a previous grounding in Antarctica in 1972, arriving initially in 1969. The ship is currently owned and operated by the Toronto-based adventure travel company GAP.

As we watched the line of lifeboats pull alongside the Norde Norge, aided by Zodiacs sent out from both the Endeavor and Norde Norge, a cold morning sun glistened off the Southern Ocean. Water temperatures hovered near the freezing mark, a strong wind lowered wind chill temperatures into the mid-20s. Cold water and wind are the ingredients of hypothermia, the greatest risk for those in the lifeboats. Once safely aboard the Norde Norge passengers and crew would be taken to King George Island in the South Shetland Islands where a charter plane will most likely carry them back to the tip of Chile, at Punta Arenas.

As the rescue operation continued successfully, with no apparent serious injury, the Explorer listed heavily to starboard in the near distance. Waves washed onto its decks; at one point it rested against a floating iceberg.

The sinking boat's Zodiacs winched onto the deck of the National Geographic Endeavor, we took a closer inspection. Many of the Endeavor's crew had long histories working on the Explorer during its more than 40 years as an expedition ship working around the globe. They were obviously saddened by seeing her apparent final moments afloat. It was a sobering moment for all, a reminder that accidents even here in Antarctica happen suddenly and with powerful impact.

Accidents in Antarctic among tourist ships is not uncommon. Last year the Norde Cap -- the sister ship to the Norde Norge -- ran aground near Deception Island and had to unload its passengers onto the Norge. The last ship to sink in Antarctic waters was the Bahia Paraiso which sank near Palmer Station (Arthur Harbor) in 1989. With 25,000 tourists now visiting each year, on more than 50 ships, accidents here are an increasing concern.

Watch National Geographic's footage of the Explorer accident.

Read more about Jon's travels on his website.