After hopscotching our way east from the Antarctic peninsula to Elephant Island and then onto the South Orkneys, we set our heading NE toward the island of South Georgia. This transit will take a full day at sea, ample time to prepare for the spectacle ahead.
Many efforts have been put forth to protect the island’s flora and fauna, so part of our day has been dedicated to another round of bio security decontamination. Bacteria, microbes, seeds, oh my! These are just a few of the organisms we want to prevent the transfer of, so out came the vacuum cleaners and biological disinfectants again today. Biological consistency is crucial to keeping South Georgia in an ecologically balanced state. That balance was threatened twice already, once with the introduction of reindeer and once with rats. Both populations have been contained, but wouldn’t have been without much effort and money.
Between cleaning our boots and gear we enjoyed a pleasant sea state and mostly following seas. All the usual suspects were with us on our journey: giant petrels, black-browed albatross, Antarctic prions, cape petrels and more. A vast Southern Ocean divides our destinations on this trip. Today, especially given the calm seas, was all about enjoying the ride.
