Re-crossing the Drake Passage

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All in all my tour of Patagonia and Antartctica involved an incredible amount of luck. We had warm, dry, still days in Patagonia. We had a smooth crossing of the Drake on the way over. We (well I) saw a leopard seal eating a penguin. We saw an Emperor Penguin. OK so we didn't have clear skies every day in Antarcica, but the weather wasn't too bad most of the time. All this good luck of course meant that our luck had to turn eventually. And oh my it definitely did.

On the 5th March we had our last landing in the morning and were due to hit open seas at about 3pm. Since it was our last chance Sara, Lillian and I headed up to the bridge to have a bit of a look to see what we could see. It was quite interesting up there to see all their charts and information etc. It reminded me of what it looked like up the top of the Air Traffic Control Tower in Brisbane.

Whilst we were up there we got a little bit of bad news. Winds for the next day were expected to hit 40 knots. Given that Sara and Lillian didn't cope so well with the weather when we had our nice crossing, this really wasn't great news. Sara and Lillian both took themselves off to prepare themselves and since I was tired from the previous night's shenanigans, I was quite happy to take myself off for a nap as well.

But by that evening at dinner time it was definitely showing that we were in the open water. I dont' think Sara made it to dinner. Lillian watched the horizon and I had to do a runner. That's what over confidence gets me. Since I'd been fine on the previous run I'd decided that I didn't need any sea sickness meds this time around. Apparently I did. So for the next 24 hours I spent dosing myself up with half dramamines (just enough to keep me from throwing up, but not enough to knock me out).

And then the next day things just got worse. At the height of the crossing we were experiencing winds that were gusting to 75 knots and 45 ft waves. It was like a rollercoaster ride that just didn't stop. Up, down, left, right, and repeat. It was fun and exciting and completely nauseating all at the same time. The worst of it lasted for most of the day and all the lectures were cancelled, replaced by movies. That was good. It got people out of their cabins but we were sent back to our cabins for lunch. Then by the following day we were back to calmer rolling waters, and by mid day we were in the beagle channel.

And that meant we were back to a semi-regular schedule. That involved a few lectures. One on long line fishing. One on what to expect if we decided to do an Arctic tour with them and slide shows. One of our photos and one of the expedition crew's photos. We had to settle our bills and there was a group photo and the rest of all that boring stuff. And another event which a lot of people (especially me) were excited about: the Ship's Auction. All the proceeds were to go to the Save the Albatross Campaign. Every $10 spent equated to an Albatross saved.... or so the statistics say.

Since day 1 there had been a map on which our progress was tracked which included all our landing spots and which had been hand illustrated by the Assistant Expedition Leader Maria Innes. It was the big ticket item and last to be auctioned. And it wasn't what I was excited about. There was some silly items on the bill. The chance to do the last wake up call. The sand that had been salvaged from the towels after our Antarctic swim. The recipe to the hot chocolate fudge cake that was served and was well liked by all.

But the item I wanted was the ship's flag. It had been flying out the front of the boat for our whole trip and was tattered along the leading edge and as an avid flag collector I wanted it. It was also going to be signed by all the expedition staff. I'd heard that the flag on the previous ship had gone for $120 and I didn't hold out much hope of it going for anything near that. I originally set my limit to $300 and when we passed the $250 mark and I decided to jump a few bids and go straight to $270 I thought I had it. But I didn't and the bids just kept going up. We passed my cut off point and I was so close to backing out but at that point Sara goes: "I'll put in $20". Then we passed $320 and Lillian made the same offer. By this stage I'd come too far and with everyone egging me on I stayed in and the bidding rose again and again to $375. Should I step out now? And just then Ann throws in the same offer as Sara and Lillian. $20 for the cause! So I put up my hand and yelled $400. And waited. And waited. "Going once". Silence. "Going twice". This wasn't the first time we'd gotten to this stage. Please don't be teasing me. "Going three times. SOLD". And I had my flag and saved 40 albatross at the same time.

I think now that even if I hadn't gotten the extra $60 from Sara, Lillian and Ann then I'm pretty happy with the price. It is now the most expensive and memorable flag in my collection. I think I will need to get it framed. But either way I need to say a huge thank you to those who contributed and egged me on. As Reid said, if I hadn't gone that extra distance I would've always thought about the flag I missed out on and I don't think I'll ever really think about the extra $100 I spent.

As I was wandering around the ship with my new prized possession, an American woman came up and was told me "You're lucky that I didn't know I could pay with Credit Card or I would have gone to $500." Well, yes I am lucky that she was late enough to the auction that she didn't hear that question asked and answered and also that she didn't think to ask it herself.

In addition to the expedition staff signing my flag, I also got a few extras which I really liked. I got the bar tenders, I got the wait staff who were always there to help us. I got the chef. I got the hotel manager who even added her trademark "Bon Appetit". And I got the Captain. I thought that was something quite special.

By dinner time we were back in port and after dinner we were OK to collect our passports and head into town if we wanted but most of us opted for one last night in the on board Polar Bear Bar. And after a few days of no drinking for most of since there was so much seasickness, we all cut loose. Mixed drinks galore and late nights and then there was Kevin the bird nerd and his dodgy dancing. At some point in the night he passed his magic number and got the bar tender to play the macarena. And he got a lot of people dancing. Then he moved onto the tang or the salsa I think it was. He would grab a random girl (starting with me for some reason) and start dancing. The most amusing part of the evening was when Stephanie wanted to dance. She eventually up the nerve to say something to someone and the next thing we knew, Kevin was twirling her around the dance floor. And then the danced again. And again. And then he did some pole dancing. And then they danced again. And at around 2 I stumbled back to my room and prepared myself for the hangover I knew I would face the following day.

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Photos

Kung Fu Fighting
I think. Me and Andrea outside our rooms doing something