M/V Orlova

	The voyage to Antarctica would begin upon the M/V Lyubov Orlova. The ship was built in 1976 in Yugoslavia and is registered in Malta. It holds a crew of 62 and 124 passengers. On our expedition, there are 86 passengers. The ship is 69.7m long, and has a breadth of 16.2m. Its cruising speed is 14 knots. Lyubov Orlova was a Russian actress who began her career in silent films. Although the ship is not a true “icebreaker,” it is ice strengthened. I hope the strength of the vessel does not come into question during the course of the trip as it did for many of the early Antarctic explorers.
Quark Expeditions charters the ship from the Lyubov Orlova Shipping Company (Losco). The ships’ crew, including the captain, the maintenance crew, the waitresses and the housekeepers were all Russian. The Quark expedition staff was from all over the world (Sweeden, USA, Canada, and England). Each of them had their own area of expertise ranging from history to ecology to geology. Most of the expedition staff during in the Antarctic during the Austral summer, then travel to the Arctic to work during their summer.
	Excursions from the M/V Orlova were conducted using inflatable Zodiac boats, which hold up to 10 passengers and 1 driver. Zodiacs are made for rough water conditions and are very well constructed. The boat is constructed of seven different inflatable tubes, and is designed to float even if one or more is deflated. The ship carried eight Zodiacs, and in between excursions, the boats were either stored on the top deck, or in the hold of the ship. The first Zodiac to leave the ship was stocked with barrels containing food, tents, and other supplies in case the seas turned rough and a return to the ship was impossible. Luckily we never saw the contents of the barrels!
Pictured here is a standard room on the ship.
	And a 3d sketch of the ship compliments of Quark Expeditions.
Here is the Quark crew who joined us. They are in the forward lounge of the ship where most of the lectures took place. There was also a bar there ;-) Picture by Mark.