This page is a summary of questions asked by the 4th Grade at Desert Cove Elementary School with Skip's answers. Again the excellent illustrations are all their own work.

How do you tell a girl penguin from a boy penguin?

There is no easy way to tell the male and female apart, as outwardly they look the same. You have to be a trained penguin biologist to tell. Possibly small differences in behaviour are significant.

Is it fun in Antarctica?

Its a lot of fun in the Antarctic if you like ice and snow!

Do you see whales?

We see mainly Humpback and Minke whales. During January and February you can see Humpbacks around the Antarctic Peninsula, which is their summer feeding ground. Around South Georgia there are now few whales as they were all hunted out during the beginning of this century.

When are you going to stop sailing!?

Stop sailing? Never!

Have you touched a penguin?

I touched a penguin on our first trip here in 1988, but that was a big mistake as we should never touch or annoy the wildlife here in any way, unless of course you are a scientist doing a specific project. We also have to be careful not to walk through a penguin colony, but only around it. If you walk through it, the penguins will leave their eggs or chicks unattended in their panic-then a skua or gull could swoop down and eat the egg or snatch a chick.

What do you eat on the ship?

On Pelagic we eat as we do normally on shore. We have fresh vegetables like potatoes, carrots, cabbage, also fresh eggs and meat. We also make bread and bake cakes and pies. We eat very well. On South Georgia we hope to shoot a reindeer. They are an introduced species from the whaling days. We can get 6 or 7 meals for 10 people from 1 reindeer.

Do you get bored on the ship.

I never get bored because every day is so busy. First of all I have to navigate the boat, fix everything that goes wrong and then do some cooking. Plus I have to write the Internet stories and answer mail like yours. When this is all done, I can read because we have a big library. There is no time to get bored here!

Is Antarctica very beautiful?

Antarctica is very beautiful. Big mountains, glaciers, icebergs and plenty of wildlife-but it is also cold and windy so you have to be bit tough to be able to appreciate it.

Do penguin droppings stink?

Penguin guano does indeed smell very strong, but I don't mind it. Other people can't stand it, but not me! Penguins eat fish and krill and thats why it smells so much.

How big is the biggest iceberg you've seen?

The biggest iceberg I have seen is probably about a 1/2 kilometer long. Most icebergs are about 40 meters high and this is constant because they break off an ice-shelf that is uniform in thickness. There have been very big icebergs floating around- sometimes 90 kilometers long! These are not called icebergs, but "ice-islands".

How many times have you been to Antarctica?

This is my eighth trip to the Antarctic. I hope I can make many more.

Is it really dark all winter and light all summer.

Whether it is all dark or all light depends on how far north or south you are and what time of the year it is. If, say, you were at the Antarctic circle at 66 degrees south, and it was December 21st, the sun would never set. Generally, where we sail on the Antarctic Peninsula, there is very little darkness during the months of December and January.