Seafarers
10th January 2025, At sea
We awoke to the now familiar motion of the ship. To our regret we couldn’t stay one more day in the Falkland Islands because of bad weather and especially a scary wind forecast. However the Peale’s dolphins which kept us company under the ship’s bow in the morning brightened our mood really quickly.
Later in the morning a fin whale surprised not only the students on survey but also the tourists out on deck. The whale surfaced only a few meters away from our vessel giving us the opportunity to have a real close look and for those who were fast enough to take great pictures. At the same time we also had countless prions fluttering just above the sea’s surface.
After lunch it was our group’s turn to visit the vessel’s bridge. One of the officers explained the different tasks those working on the bridge have to fulfil to navigate the ship safely and at the same time comfortably for the guests. We were amazed at this high tech command centre that we had looked up to from the bow during our surveys.
In the evening the wind dropped, the sky cleared and the sun made it feel like we were in the Caribbean. In between lots of black-browed albatrosses and giant petrels we had one adventures pintado (cape petrel). And one fin whale that announced its presence with a big blow several times.
This lovely sea day under a sunny sky with its great viewing conditions found a worthy end on deck 10. After our usual debriefing we arrived to the observation lounge to find the evening in full swing with live music by the crew band and an energetic crowd dancing to rocky tunes. The evening ended with an interesting and really fun Antarctic pub quiz. (Thanks Izzy 😉 )
written by Johanna