Day 6, 16th March – Drake Passage

sh52

Monday 16 March 2015

It is only our second day at sea, but everyone seems to have developed sturdy sea-legs! None more so than our excellent crew on the Plancius, who despite the severe rolling of the ship moved gracefully around the dining room during breakfast. Mhairi, Astrid and I were on bird watching duty this morning. As we stepped from the bridge onto the outer deck we were greeted with the crisp, cold air of the Drake. The whitecaps of the sea were a backdrop to Cape Petrels, Prions and Southern Fulmars.

Antarctica is one of the last untouched wildernesses on our planet. It is a very important area for scientific research, and as an area officially not governed and not owned (though claimed) by any nation it is a centrepiece for political collaboration. Because of this, it is vital that it remains wild and beautiful. Tourism has the potential to damage the environment and the lives of the animals here. It is not just direct interactions, but also litter and invasive species that are just as dangerous if not more so. In the late morning, the ship’s Expedition Team therefore gave a briefing to us all about how to behave when down south. They explained what we should do to clean our apparel and prepare ourselves mentally to fulfil our promise to Antarctica: “Leave nothing but footprints, take nothing but memories.”

For lunch, our excellent chefs cooked up a delicious meal of carrot and coriander soup, Mediterranean pasta and fruit compote. Now that we were far into the Drake Passage, the wildlife was picking up. So with our energies renewed from lunch, we climbed once again to the top deck for an afternoon of observations. We saw at least ten whales (mostly fin whales) and dozens of Antarctic fur seals! We rotated in teams of three: Two observers and one person frantically logging the data. The other passengers on the ship were equally thrilled, and we had to jostle for space to keep our eyes on the puffs of breath as the whales surfaced, or the inquisitive brown faces of the fur seals that looked up at us.

Come seven o’clock we retired downstairs for dinner, which offered lamb hock, and afterward we collected our rubber boots in preparation for the next day’s landings. We would all need good sleep tonight: Tomorrow was to be an exciting day!

Jonathan Balch Tomes (SH student)