Aurora, St. Charles residents leave Sub-Antarctic

Bob Bonifas of Aurora has a checklist of 872 places he wants to see; he's been to 800.

His most recent trip, however, has thrown him a curve.

Bonifas was one of 73 passengers stranded in the South Atlantic on the ship Plancius since April 9 at a port at South Georgia Island in the Sub-Antarctic, west of Argentina off the southern tip of South America.

The passengers and 42 crew members left the island Wednesday afternoon, picked up by the vessel Ushuaia, according to Michel van Gessel, managing director of Oceanwide Expeditions, the tour operator in charge of the Plancius. People were on the Plancius nine days after the ship's propulsion system failed.

“This is a disaster, from a travel standpoint,” Bonifas, 74, said via satellite telephone late Tuesday.

The Plancius had neither telephone nor Internet access. It is a former Royal Dutch Navy Ship owned by The Netherlands-based Oceanwide Expeditions, sailing out of Ushuaia, Argentina.

Bonifas, the founder of Alarm Detection Systems in Aurora, and traveling companion Janice Christiansen, 68, of St. Charles were 12 days into a 31-day cruise when trouble began. Christiansen, president of FlagSource/J.C. Schultz Enterprises in Batavia, was not available for comment.

The passengers had just finished visiting 200,000 seals on the island, and birds on a nearby island, when the ship developed engine trouble. Initially, power was restored, but a little while later, while heading out on a five-day trip to another island, the ship had engine trouble again.

“We limped back” to the old whaling base — a wildlife sanctuary — on South Georgia Island, Bonifas said.

According to a letter to passengers from van Gessel, “Despite efforts of the crew and Oceanwide's technicians to repair the propulsion system, the vessel's speed is unfortunately reduced to 4 knots in calm conditions. This means that it could be — under the present circumstances — dangerous to sail on open ocean and in rough conditions.  

“In order to ensure the safety of the vessel, its crew and passengers, the captain of Plancius has anchored the vessel in Grytviken, South Georgia in sheltered position.”

Bonifas said if the engine failures had happened while they were out on the open ocean, the rough waters of the South Atlantic could capsize the ship.

Passengers bunked on the ship, which had heat, light and food. The island has no permanent residents, just two British government officers and their spouses, four museum workers in the summertime (it is autumn there), and up to 25 researchers at the British Antarctica Survey station.

“In theory, I should be back in God's country (land)” by April 24, Bonifas said.

The Ushuaia will arrive in Montevideo, Uruguay on Tuesday, Gessel said Wednesday afternoon.

The mishap won't keep Bonifas from pursuing his travel dreams. Bonifas is No. 3, out of 9,683 people, currently on the Most Traveled People club's list, a club for travelers “who aspire to go everywhere.”

“Almost everything left (to visit) does not have a runway,” he pointed out.

Meaning, if he wants to check them off, he'll have to get back on a ship.