Monday, February 5

Well, aside from some 25-30 knot winds early on Sunday, our crossing of Drake’s Passage was quite pleasant. By Sunday afternoon, even the wind had dropped some and we were left with only the gentle swell of deep ocean.

Today has been utterly fantastic! At mid-morning we arrived off Palmer Station and a bunch of the folks from there came out in Zodiacs and gave several really good talks on the US research activities in the Antarctic. Next we sailed into the Lemaire Channel (an area sometimes called "Kodak" Point). Incredibly scenic...alternating sun, fog, and even some snow. When the wind is low you can go outside (at least for brief periods) without a coat, but at times the wind has been up to 40 knots at which point it will freeze your hair off, even with a hat on!

So far just about everybody but me has seen loads of dolphins, whales and even penguins swimming near the ship. It’s almost always on the other side of the ship from where I am at the moment. But there seem to be so many that I’m bound to see some sooner or later.

Tuesday, February 6

Today we sailed the Neumayer Channel, the Gerlache Strait, Paradise Harbor, the Errera Channel and the Bransfield Strait. The weather was mostly low clouds, but clear enough at water level to see tons of penguins (mostly Gentoos), mostly porpoising through the waters around the ship. I got some photos of a bunch of them on a small iceberg then diving off of it. Seals and occasional whales are still staying on the other side of the ship from wherever I happen to be when they are sighted.

One of the interesting things is that the ice pops. Sailing slowly through brash ice or growlers (types of small floating ice bits) everything else is so utterly quiet except for the constant popping and crackling noises of the ice itself. And the growlers really do sort of growl.

The scenery is just unbelievable. White white snow, turquoise blue glacier ice, charcoal gray to black craggy mountains, patches of snow and ice in pastel colors due to algae and microbial blooms, then all the shades of white and blue of the ice in the water, and drifting clouds and fog of every shade of gray.

It is a most awesome experience. Realizing that you are at the bottom of the world, so far from everything familiar. It feels similar to, but even bigger than standing in a grove of redwood trees. Really quite spiritual. I can understand why people and especially researchers who spend a good deal of time down here come back again and again.

Wednesday, February 7

Last night at dinner several humpback whales evidently did everything but a pas de deux outside the dining room windows. I, of course, could not see any of it as 1) I happened to have my back to the windows, and 2) by the time I got turned around, everybody else in the dining room was blocking the view.

This morning we sailed around Deception Island which is a volcano caldera that was often used by whaling ships as a safe harbor and processing area. The smaller expedition tourist ships can go in, but we are too big. Got a good look at a lot of red hematite and green limolite ores, black lava ash, and as a highlight, a huge colony of chinstrap penguins.

The weather here is more changeable than just about any place on earth. In the space of about two hours we had everything from calm and not to cold to fog, rain, sleet, snow and back again in succession. After Deception Island, the Antarctic Sound was too icy to enter so we had to skip Paullet Island and have headed out toward Elephant Island at the north end of the South Shetland Islands. We presently have some rolling sea, but with a following wind, so it’s not too bad.

Elephant Island is where the Shackleford party was stranded for so long. It's very bleak, and I'm totally amazed that they all survived to be rescued.

Thursday, February 8

En route to the Falkland Islands where we should be tomorrow. Pretty decent weather...not too much motion and still a following wind as we cross the Antarctic Circle headed north. Most of us are looking forward to warmer weather again, although all are agreed that to experience the Antarctic was worth just about anything.