A waiting game…and finally the Plancius
17th March, Ushuaia.
Finally, it’s here, the day I’ve been waiting for probably since I started my Masters at St. Andrews. I had until this point only dreamed of the idea of going to the Antarctic, and it still feels like it can’t be real – it must be a dream. I can see our home for the next 9 days, the MV Plancius, from the hotel window here in Ushuaia. She’s smaller than I imagined, but looks impressive nonetheless. I’m excited. What will she be like inside? Who am I sharing a bunk with? What am I going to see (please, please, please, killer whales!)? How on earth do I tell the difference between a Wandering Albatross and a Giant Petrel? Four o’clock can’t come soon enough so we can all finally board our new home, and set sail to the true end of the world, a mere 1,000 km from our current position.
But I have to admit I’m also nervous. I’ve heard tales of the Drake’s Passage, the infamous body of water which spans from Cape Horn here in South America to the South Shetland Islands in Antarctica. It’s one of the roughest seas in the world; often referred to as either, the Drake Shake or the Drake Lake. I’m praying for a lake! I’ve experienced seasickness before and let me tell you, I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. I’m hoping the extensive pile of seasickness tablets in my bag will get me through the next two-days!
To kill some time, I wander around Ushuaia’s many gift shops and sights, and purchased what feels like 100’s of postcards. But every time I look towards the harbour I’m reminded of my forthcoming journey on the Plancius and get excited to finally see Antarctica!
Finally, I walking along the harbour and the Plancius is now within reach! I drop off my bag with everyone else’s and practically run on board. I’m told I’m in room 304 with Emma (finally one of the first questions has been answered!), and I follow the very friendly staff through the maze that is this ship to my cabin.
After settling in and unpacking everything so that it doesn’t fly across the room in the event of stormy weather, Emma and I make our way upstairs to deck 5 or the passenger observation deck and make the most of the free hot chocolate! Next we settled in for the safety briefing. This was no ordinary PowerPoint presentation but instead a full practice, with everyone having to put on some pretty flashy orange life jackets (which are not as easy to put on as I first assumed… thanks for the help Lars!), and were told by the bridge “we can no longer guarantee your safety” (before anyone panics we were still in port at this point). Pretty exciting stuff that I hope I will never have to repeat!
At 18:03 we set sail! This is it. We’re finally on the way to Antarctica; everyone practically ran to the outside decks and started looking for seabirds and marine mammals. I was lucky enough to spot the first one, a male South American sea lion, identifiable by his incredibly large head and blunt snout. After this point the sightings poured in: Magellanic penguins, black browed albatross, Chilean skuas, Southern giant petrels, imperial shags, kelp gulls, dolphin gulls, sooty shearwaters! Sonja was surprised to see so many giant petrels in the Beagle Channel; they aren’t usually this numerous this far up. However, this strange observation was finally explained when Tim spotted a large dead baleen whale (most likely a sei) floating in the distance! My first baleen whale sighting, and hopefully my last dead one!
When we were finally torn away from our binoculars, we listened to the welcome talk, where we met the captain and crew; one of the crew members being our very own Dr Sonja Heinrich – she’s wearing two hats on this trip you see! There was also free champagne at this welcome, which definitely went down a treat with everyone! However, I fear this was to help break the news that the Drake is definitely going to shake tomorrow; praying clearly hasn’t helped….
Finally, it was dinner and a full 3-course meal awaited everyone! We feasted on some delicious food and indulgent dulce de leche ice cream, and then re-assembled again in the observation lounge to find out the plan for tomorrow. Lars announced that myself, Joe and Clare will be on the first watch at 9:30 am and I honestly can’t wait – let’s hope I see those killer whales!
Charlotte Findlay
