Buques gemelos: “Le Maire” y “Les Eclaireurs”.-  Transporte Naval   construido en  Astilleros  Monfalcone, Cantieri Reuniti Dell Adriático, Italia. Botado en Junio de 1949, incorporándose a Transportes Navales en 1951.  Buque de transporte mixto (carga y pasajeros)  Realiza viajes a Río Gallegos, costa sur, Brasil y EEUU, En 1955. Utilizado  como buque prisión durante la autodenominada Revolución Libertadora.

Es afectado a la línea de puertos patagónicos en  1955  y hasta 1965.

Durante la temporada 1965/66 charteado por la empresa Lindblad Travel de USA  realiza 1 viaje de turismo,  la temporada siguiente, 1966/67 nuevamente charteado por Limblad Travel realiza 2 viajes  con 94 pasajeros en total.

El 4/feb/67   al desembarcar un contingente de pasajeros  en la Is. Media Luna, Arch. Shetlands del Sur,  en el bote  salvavidas de madera   debido a un temporal sorpresivo del sur este  chocó contra las piedras de la costa  y se desfondó  naufragando en la playa, los pasajeros debieron permanecer en la base Tte. Cámara  por varias horas  hasta que fueron  recuperados,  cuando mejoraron las condiciones meteorológicas. (ver fotos y referencias en  revista Life del 8/Sept de 1967)

Los restos de este bote se encuentran  todavía en la playa de la Isla Media Luna y es el que  varios autores denominan como restos de un bote ballenero o lobero de principios  del Siglo XX, hay una placa de agradecimiento de los pasajeros en  la Base Tte.Camara  por el alojamiento brindado.

En 1969 realiza sus últimos cinco viaje a la patagonia, el 27 de Junio es retirado de servicio. El 20 de Agosto de 1973 es fondeado en Intersección  (rada La Plata) para cumplir tareas de pontón faro y estacionario de prácticos.

TRB: 3165 tons TPB: 2465 tons DV: 2.908

Eslora total : 103,90   mts Manga máxima 15,35 mts Puntal: 9,40  mts Calado de verano 6,6 mts

Tripulantes 71  Pasajeros 100  (40 de 1ra clase y 60 clase turística)

Bodegas: 3 , entrepuentes  3.- Capacidad granel: 190.035 p³.     Capacidad general: 177.607 p³. Capacidad frigorífica: 5.414 p³. Capacidad combustible: 533 tons D. O.   Consumo diario: 15 tons

Dos motores diesel FIAT; 2T SA; 6 cilindros (520 x 960). FIAT Grandi Motori, Torino.  3.400 CVe. 2 hélices  Velocidad: 15 nudos.  Señal distintiva LOPT

IMO Nº 5203528

In the midnight sunlight a party of tourists approaches a rookery of nestling penguins on Grossac island

As wild and primitive as the Amazon Basin is, it seems as Cypress Gardens along the forbidding penguin populated fringes of Antarctica. Until 150 years ago no one had ever sigthed the south polar continent. Even today fewer than 5.000 men - and less than 100 women - have set foot on it, and one reason is that it is as difficult to get to as is to stay in. But anyone who signs up to Lindblad´s trip does so with sufficient forewarning of what he´s in for.

Going onshore on Half Moon Island, the tourists are caught in a suden blizzard that demolished their landing craft and left them marooned for hours until another boat could be sent ashore

"The Antarctc Expedition" states the brochure, "is not set up for those who are only interested in a good time". Even if a customer concedes that he doesn´t care about a good time and actually enjoys discomfort, there´s always the danger to consider. To connect up with the cruise the client must first fly to Tierra del Fuego at the tip of South America. Here he boards a chartered Argentine naval vessel, the Lapataia, which sails across the Drake Passage, 500 miles of the roughest waters in the world. The ship butters past drifting chunks of ice the size of buildings and through winds up to 50 knots to reach the South Shetlands chain, from where the mainland of Antarctica was first sighted in 1820. After the ship pushes south along Palmer Peninsula on an intinerary that is wholly dependent on weather and ice, and the captain of the ship will have the last word in determining "in the interest of the passengers" how far to proceed. Of the 157 tourists (92 of them women)who paid $3.600 and made the two week voyage, only two became casualties: a woman who took a tumble while climbing out of her bunk and a man with a mild case of frostbite.

The tour ship Lapataia past huge icebergs near Anvers Island.

 The trip brightened when the ship visited the British scientific base at Deception island and gave scientists their first look at a woman in 30 months

The 24 hours of daylight are filled with memorable adventures and strabge sights. Off Anvers Island, tour members visit the famed US Coast Guard Icebreaker Westwind. On deception Island Maria Crowne of Santa Monica, California, takes movies in a rookery oh chinstrip penguins that tolerate her presence without the slightest show of fear.

The tourist  exploring King Goerge Island are greeted with a magnificent bellow by an elephant seal while a smaller Weddell seal snoozes behind  him with unconcern (below).  The red parkas worn by the tourists are required dress so that they can be spotted easily if they get lost  or separated- and will be starkly visible in the color snapshots they´ll cherish as souvenirs of places few men have seen. 

Este sitio es publicado por Histarmar - Argentina

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