17th March – Pilot whales & almost Drake Lake
A full day heading north in the Drake Passage. The conditions were less extreme than we experienced on the way south and our sea legs are now in better shape. So there were considerably fewer green faces being thrust into little white sick bags.
The group is a little melancholic, having left the spectacular wildlife and scenery of Antarctica behind. Sightings were few and far between during the morning surveys and it seemed 
that all the excitement was behind us. However, during lunch there it was announced that some dolphins had been sighted! Everyone threw what was left of their lunch down their throats and rushed up on deck. The resulting indigestion was more than compensated for by the view of a large pod of Long-finned Pilot Whales. The pod consisted of around 40-60 individuals, including very young calves. At their closest, they were within 100 m of the ship so we were able to get good views of the animals and their behaviour. Pilot whales are rarely seen in the Drake’s Passage, so this was a very lucky encounter!
We’ll be continuing our mammal and bird surveys as we continue towards Ushuaia so we’ll see what surprises tomorrow will have for us.
Craig (MRes student)