Drake Passage (60°S heading north)
Last night we experienced the rock’n roll of a rough Drake Passage, so most of us didn’t get much sleep. Breakfast sees many empty places, and a generally reduced appetite (except for a few hardy souls who still tuck into scrambled eggs, bacon and croissants). Several presentations are offered throughout the day and are met with varying levels of attendance and enthusiasm. The lounge resembles a big student camp with bodies sprawled on every couch and cups of tea being balanced precariously on tilting tables.
A few aahhhs and ooohhhs echo through the room when the ship rolls particularly violently in the heavy seas. Several dedicated team members clamber up to the bridge for hourly seabird counts, but even the seabirds don’t seem to like the wet weather much so few are spotted. We stare out across a grey wind-swept sea and watch big waves roll towards our bow, and occasionally crash over it with the spray washing over the bridge windows. Overall this is a quiet day with much needed downtime after the extremely busy, exciting schedule of our six activity-packed days in Antarctica.
(Sonja, teaching staff)
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