Rocking the Drake’s Passage

sh52
Saturday 7 January 2023

Day 3 – 04 January 2023

Today, we woke up in the famous Drake Passage. While some of us had chosen to take seasickness medication the night before in preparation for the fearsome crossing, others decided to wait and see how they felt the next morning. And sure enough, we were greeted by the rocking waves our first morning outside the Beagle Channel. According to the ship captain’s announcement earlier that morning, the waves were about 2-3 meters high with strong winds. While the captain claimed that this was considered an “overall good Drake Passage” it didn’t really help some of the team who were spending the day sick in bed. For those of us who were feeling up to the challenge, we spent our first full day practicing the survey techniques we will use for the rest of the trip.

Surveys consisted of both marine mammal and seabird sightings. Marine mammal surveys are completed by teams of three, two observers, and one data recorder. Observers are responsible for keeping a watchful eye out for any marine mammals they may see during the 1.5 hour shift. While that may not sound particularly thrilling, for us marine mammal nerds, it is the definition of anticipation and excitement. Due to apparently “overall good”, but in my humble opinion poor, conditions in the Drake Passage, it was difficult to spot any marine mammals. However, Mike Webster, one of our course leaders, claims to have seen an unidentified mammal which we have taken to calling “Mike’s mystery cetacean”.

Seabird surveys involve teams of three identifying every bird that passes through their survey area for ten minutes every half hour. Fortunately, there were many more seabirds than mammals today and the birders of the group were treated to spectacular views of many different species including wandering and royal albatrosses, many black-browed albatross and even a few light-mantled sooty albatross. Soon we were also getting to grips with smaller species and even had a go at identifying prions and storm petrels.

Wandering albatross
Light-mantled sooty albatross

Our surveys for the day were put on hold when we, along with the rest of MS Roald Amundsen’s passengers, attended a mandatory IAATO briefing. In the meeting, Hurtigruten Expedition staff informed us of the many regulations we must follow once we reach Antarctica to help preserve the continent’s unique and natural state.

We were then free for the evening and a large portion of the group decided to relax and unwind by spending some time in the outdoor jacuzzi on the top deck of the ship. If you think about it, we were practically swimming in the Drake Passage. Some of us even got a bit of tan while soaking up the sun. Once we had enough luxury jacuzzi time, we decided to transition to the onboard sauna which offered panoramic views while we recovered from a hard day’s work. We arrived at dinner feeling relaxed and reborn. After dinner, we decided to continue the fun by playing a card game together (congrats to the winners, I’m not salty about it at all). We ended the day by watching the sunset on the Drake Passage, feeling much closer to Antarctica and much better on our newfound sea legs.

Written by India

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One reply to "Rocking the Drake’s Passage"

  • Sophie Smout
    Sophie Smout
    Monday 9 January 2023, 2.26pm

    Great to see you all down South - have a brilliant time!

    Reply

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