9th March – Rock’n Roll in the Drake’s Passage
Well, the “thrills of tomorrow” (see Anna’s post) hit most of the team pretty hard….. the weather out in the Drake’s Passage was atrocious with over 10m high waves. So Plancius moved back and forth in the reasonably sheltered waters east of Cape Horn until the late morning when the Captain decided it was safe enough to enter into the open (and thus more wild) waters of the Drake’s Passage. Most of the ship, including most of the students, were soon in various stages of misery. There were those that did not surface from their bunks for the whole day and night. Then there were those that surfaced for short periods, disappeared and occasionally reappeared for tea and crackers …. And then there were a select few b ouncing around as if there was no crazy rocking and rolling going on. We managed to get some seabird survey practice in with those well enough to stand upright, hold a pair of binoculars and care enough about those feathery masters of the waves. Majestic wandering albatross led the gang of soaring birds gliding effortlessly over the tumbling waves…. Some of these waves splashed as high as the bridge windows, and those with hardy enough stomachs to make it for dinner got the feeling of going round in a washing machine as the waves crashed over the dining room windows. All in all, a rough first day at sea,…. The team is certainly earning its passage to Antarctica! And we’re all very glad we’re NOT on the “Discovery”….
(Sonja, staff)