Antarctic Cruise Diary : 20 December 2006

If you want to know more about our Antarctic Expeditions and Cruises, you may enjoy reading this Antarctic Cruise Dairy, a real account written by one of our staff researchers, of the cruise that they enjoyed in December 2006.

• Antarctic Expedition Cruise Starts From Ushuaia
• Cruising To Antarctica
• Cruising Through Drake Passage
• The Cruise Arrives At Pleaneau Island
• Peterman Island And Yalour Islands
• Cuverville Island And Neko Harbour
• Danco Island And Wilhelmina Bay
• Deception Island And Half Moon Island
• The Cruise Leaves Antarctica
• Return To Ushuaia

the cruise leaves ANTARCTICA VIA DRAKES PASSAGE

20 Dec 2005
Cool and calm in the Southern Ocean
Position: Lat: 57°.48' Long: 64°.53'
Air Temperature: +5°C

The morning found us steaming at 14 knots back towards South America. The weather was cloudy and grey but the ocean was incredibly calm. A slight swell, no wind and a wonderfully glassy sea left us wondering where all the horrific stories of the wild and stormy Drake Passage came from! We felt very lucky hoping it holds for crossing Cape Horn tomorrow.

Today had a very lazy feel to it with lots of us choosing to sleep in and renew our energy after 5 wonderfully busy days exploring the Antarctic Peninsula.
Throughout the day we had a steady stream of fascinating presentations. Graham entertained us with a first hand account of the longest sea-kayak journey ever accomplished in Antarctica and an insight into the world of professional adventurers. Scott, our resident history buff, mesmerized us with stories of Scott and Amundsen's tragic race to the South Pole. Jacques continued to impart his great wealth of Antarctic and South Ocean ornithological knowledge with a presentation on the impact of long line fisheries on the Albatross population. And last but not least our guest speaker Professor Hal educated us with look at the history of the early exploration of Antarctica.

Just before dinner, Duncan the consummate bartender ran a charity auction to raise awareness to protect Albatross species in the Southern Ocean. ("Get the Albatross off the Hook!") Items on auction included one of the ship's charts signed by the captain and crew and a range of fantastic coffee table books on Antarctica, one of which was written by Graham about his kayaking exploits.