What happened to the G.A.P. Antarctic cruise ship?

What happened to the G.A.P. Antarctic cruise ship?  This cruise ship hit ice November 23, 2007 and sank.  Fortunately, all the passengers and crew members were rescued after spending some time in life boats waiting for other cruise ships to take them aboard.

This is a trip I would like to take … I think, but I also would like to know what happened in addition to the fact that the ship was built in 1969 and struck ice.  This is one of my problems with media coverage.  This was certainly a news worthy event, the findings and investigation is also news worthy too.  I hope that this story does not get lost.

Again, this is not about blaming G.A.P., the captain, or anyone or anything else … nature happens … I just want to know what happened … prior to my trip someday.

When does a tour become an adventure?

Not quite “to be or not to be”, but this question of tour or adventure has been nagging me.  Some tour operators, such as G.A.P. advertise their vacation/holiday packages as adventures instead of tours.  Okay, I understand that a tour is a journey that starts at a starting point and typically ends at the starting point too, while an adventure is some exciting experience that can be risky or dangerous.  I don’t think that these adventure sellers want to say that their adventures are dangerous … well, maybe some.

I would say my tour of Delphi was an exciting adventure without the danger.  I would say that my adventure in Hawaii, say at the National Volcano Park, was an awesome tour.  Is a tour sedentary and an adventure active?  Does risk or the possibility of danger differentiate the two?  Is the difference minimal or the terms interchangeable?  Do operators use the term to attract a targeted audience?

I must admit that when I saw this description, adventure, I laughed at the operator for their play on words to describe their offerings, but perhaps I was a little hasty in my dismissal … the jury is still debating this distinction.

Now that’s bad press or is it

I’ve been following the Antarctic accident and am glad that everyone evacuated the ship to safety.  I certainly do not want anyone to think that I am blaming G.A.P. for the accident … right now, it sounds just like an accident.  Of course, this accident will impact the environment, but it sounds like it was just an accident … should the ship have been reinforced more than it was … this is remediable.  Is there or should there be better detection equipment … maybe.  Others will undoubtable ask these and more sophisticated questions later. 

Now, I have never been on a G.A.P. tour [actually, they refer to their tours as adventures], but have come close to purchasing a tour, I mean an adventure, on several occasions, and may take one of their adventure for one of my upcoming trips.  I am a full-time employee and student at the University of Kentucky and have come to associate G.A.P. with STA, our student travel agency.  STA offers discount travel opportunities for student, but will help organize trips for anyone.  They actually have age limits for some of their discounts … in other words, I am too old for some of the bargains.  Now, I have to wait until I’m 65 to get discounts again. 

Back to my purpose … this incident is definitely bad news for the environment and the Antarctic ecology, as well as G.A.P., but the tour company can get good press from the way that they have handled the crisis and the way that they handle the accident in the coming days, weeks, and months.  No one was injured, the evacuation seemed and was reported to be orderly, and the company seems to be transparent.

I’m interested in hearing more from the passengers as they have time to reflect on what actually happened.

When ecotourism goes wrong

Fortunately, no one has injured, but the ship M/S Explorer that was cruising the Antarctic had to be evacuated because it began sinking after hitting submerged ice.  G.A.P., the owner of the M/S Explorer, prides themselves on eco-friendly “adventures,” as they call their tours. 

This incident made me think about my upcoming trip to Ecuador and my “adventure” through the Galapagos Islands aboard another cruise ship, the Explorer II.  These places are so compelling to visit, but equally fragile.  It’s hard to argue that no matter how eco-friendly we are, our presences impacts these fragile ecologies in sometimes negative ways.  Ice bergs are naturally found in the Antarctic and accidents are bound to happen.  Similar to camping in the woods, I may be attacked and mauled by bears … though no fault of the bears.

I hope to have an uneventful trip to the Galapagos this December 22 … uneventful in terms of not leaving a greater impact on the ecology than what is required of me to visit.  I will be back with a full report and tons of photographs … I hope. 

Summarily, this is the risk we take when we embark on eco-tours.