A farewell to the sea
11th January 2025, Beagle Channel
As the MS Roald Amundson crept ever closer towards our destination at Ushuaia, an almost melancholy mood grew amongst the cohort, knowing this fantastic trip was nearing its end. Today marked the 14th and last day at sea with the vessel charting its way into the Beagle channel for a 6pm arrival. The ship was buzzing with crew and guests alike, going about their final preparations and activities; last-minute shopping, equipment returns, invoice settlements and rushing to the final knit-and-natter session. Yet, as per usual, you wouldn’t find the students amongst the knit-and-natter session, but upon deck 7 embracing the elements one last time, eager to tick off any remaining species. Whale and bird surveys started at 8 am sharp and hopes of spotting dusky dolphins and sei whales were high. After all the Beagle Channel and greater area are famous for such sightings. Still, all the Argentine sea could provide was a chilling wind to portside. Perhaps we might have left the best behind us? But as the ship drew into the jaws of the beagle channel, the wind slipped away leaving the water’s surface almost glass-like, perfect for spotting cetaceans. Shortly after, blows and splashes shattered the water’s surface, and an infectious excitement swarmed the deck. Dusky dolphins leapt and dove, racing towards the bow, tall bushy spouts of sei whales peppered the way ahead, whilst clusters of South American sea lions inquisitively bobbed alongside the ship. The Beagle channel had truly delivered, pulling out all the stops for a wonderful send-off.
Despite all the action above deck, a handful of students were frantically working away; it was nearly time to present our findings to the guests on board. As 14:00 hit, the team was ready; cetacean and seabird sightings were tallied, and their distributions was laid out across our travels, whilst the behaviours of Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins were discussed. On the whole, the presentations were a great success and all thanks to our speakers: Jade, Betsy, Larissa, Holly, Kirsty, Beth, Isabel and Sophie for delivering such engaging talks. Soon after, the onboard official observers: Polar Whale Watch, delivered their findings, revealing that we managed to spot more individuals than the experts (not that it’s a competition 😉). Going to show that it may be nice and comfortable sitting up on the warm bridge, but if you want those sightings, you just can’t beat being out on deck!
At around 17:00 the ship docked at the port of Ushuaia. Nestled below the snow-speckled peaks of the Andes fueguinos, amongst the luscious green scenery lay the ‘city at the end of the world’. A far cry from the desolate ice-wrapped slopes of the white continent, but still an impressive sight. And chuffed in our ‘victory ‘some of us set out to scour the city for tacky souvenirs and a well-deserved drink. Eventually we settled at the Patagonia brewery, reminiscing over a few drinks.
Thus, as we conclude a bittersweet ending to our voyage, we look from the sea towards the skies, taking with us many fond memories and leaving nothing but footprints behind.
Written by Fintan
Sounds Like an amazing trip. Bet it was nice to get back to solid ground though after 2 weeks at sea. Impressive that the team managed to observe more animals than the Polar Whale Watch. I've been taking notes on the species you encountered and they are all so amazing. Sea Lions are particularly interesting due to their high levels of intelligence. They have been documented to understand human signals, complex pattern recognition and may even be able to understand that they have gaps in their knowledge. They follow trends that other intelligent pinnipeds and cetaceans follow with large brain to body ratios and larger cerebrums. Differing from other mammals their hindbrain is larger likely due to its increased active capacity within a species that is more physically active due to its aquatic habitat. This larger hindbrain likely aids in orientation and regulating body movement in this environment.