Departure Day – 8th March 2014
The day has finally arrived! After months of anticipation and building excitement we were finally ready to set off on our Antarctic adventure. The morning began with a delicious breakfast at our charming hotel in Ushuaia with the strong Argentine sun breaking through the cloud cover and illuminating the surrounding mountain peaks. We wandered the streets of the southern most city in the world cramming in a few last-minute supplies before embarking on board our new floating home for the next eleven days.
The Plancius is a rather majestic ship with an illustrious past – once a Dutch naval vessel it has been transformed into a luxurious, multiple tea options, three-course meal cruise ship. I think it is safe to say that everyone was more than delighted by the arrangements. With around 108 passengers and 44 crew, the ship has a very personal feel and the general enthusiasm and excitement for what lies ahead is contagious!
We left port at 1800 hours and entered the Beagle Channel as a strong wind helped carry us on our way. All terribly excited for the adventure of a lifetime to begin, we were quickly brought back down to earth by our expedition leader’s introductory talk. The ship’s television screens greeted us with a weather chart (see image) showing a huge swell (residual from a massive storm) making its way across the Drake’s Passage. With a predicted wave height of around twelve metres, if we left the channel tonight we would be in very serious trouble. As our expedition leader said, “Plans are made to be changed”. The safest decision was made, and we would remain in the shelter of the channel until first light before poking our bow into the most tempestuous waters on our planet where the Southern Ocean is funnelled through the narrow gap between the tip of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula. Hopefully the gods will smile upon us and the waters will be uncharacteristically calm and teeming with breaching humpbacks and other marine mammals, but realistically the odds are looking slim.
However the journey through the Beagle Channel has already been filled with numerous distractions. With glorious dark coloured mountains on either side we keenly cut through the water like a hot knife through butter and soon Puerto Williams, the southern most town in the world and the tip of Chile came into view. We were kept busy with a practice evacuation scenario complete with fluorescent orange lifejackets and a sneak peak inside the lifeboats to enjoying the company of a Black-browed albatross, the traditional bearer of Antarctic greetings gliding overhead. It circled our boat repeatedly enabling us to have more than a glimpse of this majestic and aerodynamically superior bird with a wingspan of over two metres and a black mascara-like stripe over its eyes, it was immediately recognisable with black outlined wings providing a stark contrast to its snowy body.
As night set in, we began to settle down and after a heavy supper interspersed with making new friends, most have retired to their rooms for the night, no doubt already dreaming about the thrills of tomorrow!
Anna (SH student)