We began our account of our journey to Antarctica, with a wonderful encounter with sei whales in the Beagle Channel. Even though visibility was a little poor in the darkening skies, many of us were able to catch good glimpses of these huge whale as they went about their feeding. We also were fortunate to see dusky dolphins and Peale’s dolphins. Afterwards the ship headed out into open seas and on our course for the South Shetland Islands, where we will make our first landfall. But first the dreaded Drake Passage has to be negotiated.
This vast body of water, much feared, was discovered by Sir Francis Drake in September 1578. As his expedition exited the Straits of Magellan into the Pacific Ocean, they were hit by an “intolerable tempest” and the Golden Hind was driven south and backwards to 57ºS where the Atlantic and Pacific oceans “meete in most large and free scope”.
Lucky for us we awoke to calm seas and force 3 winds from the WSW, and as the morning progressed they swung round to ENE and dropped to force 1-2. This was a fine omen. The seabirds were scant under these calm conditions but those of us who put in the hours on the bridge were rewarded with a number of sightings.
During the morning there were several organized events and by the end of it we were fully versed on how to make use of the internet on board, we met all the natural history staff and had our first chance to become more familiar with our cameras and hopefully help us to take better images.
After lunch we heard two presentations. The first was on the seabirds of the Southern Ocean. It is remarkable how these amazing creatures have made this vast, and often tumultuous ocean, their home. After tea we became more and more aghast as Tim Jarvis, our Global Perspectives Guest Speaker, shared with us his harrowing tale about the re-enactment of Douglas Mawson’s amazing trek.
During the presentation we had amazing close views of a wandering albatross that was aft of the ship and on occasions would effortlessly fly past us. These magnificent birds, the largest flying birds on the planet, are mesmerizing to watch. We were also surprised by an unfamiliar sight, a ship sailing past us! It was the Barque Europa, a small sailing ship from the Netherlands.
Throughout the afternoon the conditions became calmer and calmer and by evening we were in a Drake Lake—nobody was complaining about our good fortune. With the captain’s welcome cocktails and welcome dinner completed we said goodbye to our first day under a magnificent sunset with gorgeous colors off in the west.
