Day 5, 15th March – Drake Passage
In terms of its reputation, the Drake Passage was relatively calm today. This didn’t stop seasickness affecting the group, but most of us were feeling better after a stellar lunch.
Today was our first chance to survey the fauna here in the Southern Ocean. Seabirds were in abundance, from the tiny darting storm petrels to impressive wandering albatross with wings as long as I am tall. Somewhat more shy were the marine mammals: one Southern Bottlenose whale surfaced next to the ship and seemed as surprised by the close encounter as those of us were who got to glimpse it. A couple of further blows were spotted and Diego and Scott thought they might have seen another beaked whale, but couldn’t be certain.
The most significant bird sightings were of those wandering albatross and a Southern giant petrel of the white morph, which an expedition guide told me is a characteristic of only 1 in 800 of these birds. This is surely a good omen for what is to come. With a little luck, tomorrow will be as exciting – even if it means another early rise!
P.S. If you want to know where the Plancius is right now, check here:
http://www.oceanwide-expeditions.com/our-fleet/where-are-they-now
Max Speirs, Senior Honours student
So happy to read you are all safe and sound and that even Drake's Passage was not that bad after all. An albatros is indeed a nice beginning. Hope you see lots of other animals and you are all having the experience of your lives. Keep it safe and enjoy. Karla De Ruyck, mother of Helena Voet.
Great to see the expedition is going well and plenty to see and discuss already. We recognised your hat Max, looking good! We are thinking of you all here in sunny Lanzarote, much love, Lynn and Woody.
Hey Max, sounds like the adventure of a lifetime. Great blog from everyone involved, you can feel the emotion and the experience through the words. What a great trip for you all. See you soon.