Getting Excited

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Geo: -57.426, -58.0146

We slept late today, but got up when Sean, the Whale Guy, made an announcement about seeing fin whales from the deck. Philip went out and saw a few spouts. By the time I was wrapped up warm enough to go outside, they must have been gone although I did see some lovely birds, probably cape petrels.

We skipped breakfast but went for lunch in the dining room. We have been traveling a week now and have had some wonderful food, but it felt like time for a hamburger. After lunch we had our first daily recap and briefing for the next day. We learned again how to dress for the landings in Antarctica. This time they added the importance of putting everything on in the proper order: waterproof pants outside the boots, life jacket goes on when the parka hood is up then put the hood down, backpack put on after the life jacket but buckled under the life jacket, and on and on, but those seem to be the most critical. The captain interrupted the daily briefing to point out a large iceberg on the starboard side. I guess he forgot that everyone was at the required-attendance briefing. It caused most everyone on that side of the ship near the windows to draw back the shades for a look. It was a magnificent example, but we should see many more. It took a while for the hubbub to die down. Fortunately, Luqui, the Ice Guy, was nearly finished with his talk, and we were dismissed.

We passed into Antarctica officially last night and this morning. We completed our trip across the Drake Passage which is known for its rough seas and high winds seeing lots of birds and a few whales. Somewhere near the middle of the passage lies the Antarctic Convergence which is one of the markers for the boundary of Antarctica. It is considered the true biological boundary. There the temperatures of the air and the sea drop rapidly and the water changes in salinity and density. It is an area with an abundance of plankton and krill which feed the larger species up the food chain. The political boundary of Antarctica is 60 degrees south, and we have passed that marker, too. We have arrived!

We went outside today several times on our balcony and twice out on the forward deck to see the first sightings of icebergs and islands. We saw humpback whales and snowy sheathbills and more cape petrels from the deck. Our parkas worked to keep us warm while we were outside. The ship was moving so the wind was brisk, but the railings blocked some of the wind. My face was uncomfortably cold so I'll do a better job of protecting it tomorrow.

The captain had extra time here; we were scheduled to arrive tomorrow morning. He sailed slowly around areas of the South Shetland Islands for much of the evening. We went into Ezcurra Inlet beside St. George Island for a tour. This was the first time that a Seabourn ship has sailed there. We also toured Admiralty Bay and Mackellar Inlet. The cliffs of the islands are mainly covered with snow and ice although there are some bare and barren areas with glaciers coming down between the mountains. These islands were formed by volcanic activity.

We are ready for our first chance to set foot on Antarctica tomorrow. Our group is scheduled for the 12:30 landing. The groups start at 8 a.m. and change every ninety minutes. By Antarctic treaty rules, no more than one hundred guests are allowed off the ship at any time at the same landing area. We will need to go to the Zodiac launch area on deck three with
all our layers of clothing on except the boots. "Zipped and Clipped," as they say. We'll change into the boots right before getting in the Zodiacs. Another rule is that ships with more than 500 passengers are not allowed to make landings in Antarctica at all. This ship holds 450 passengers so it is one of the largest that can do landings in Antarctica. That is one of the reasons we picked this ship for our cruise. With its much bigger heft and ocean stabilizers, we think that it will handle the rough Drake Passage a lot better than other expedition ships in the area that normally hold fewer than 150 passengers. With the size of the ship and our excellent first experience on Seabourn last year, it was pretty easy to choose The Seabourn Quest for this grand trip. It promises enough adventure for us without sacrificing any comfort.

It is after 10 p.m. yet still light outside. Sunset is scheduled for 10:19 this evening and sunrise will be at 3:09 a.m. We will shut the second row of curtains that separate our bedroom from the living area of the suite. That helped keep the sun out early this morning so we will try that again.

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