16 February 2023, Antarctic Cruise Day 3, Drake Passage –

The wind picked up a bit in the night, but nothing that was going to cause seasickness.  We slept till late and had to dash to breakfast.  Here is our “rest day” schedule:

• 8.30am – buffet breakfast
• 9am – science talk on whales (fascinating facts)
• 10am – shower and wash clothes
• 11am – mandatory safety briefing on kayaking
• 12.30pm – buffet lunch
• 2pm – watch the talk on whales again (we missed the first part)
• 3pm – mandatory safety briefing on photo cruising
• 3.30pm – put on expedition gear for outdoor practice
• 4pm – workshop on photographing birds in flight, from the pool deck (hence requirement for previous activity)
• 5pm – wave to the ship’s webcam and check out the running track (165 metres)
• 5.30pm – Captain’s Welcome and excellent free champagne
• 6pm – visit shop after discovering my outer pants are not windproof enough
• 6.30pm – briefing on tomorrow’s planned activities. Head now officially spinning.
• 7.30pm – dinner, including free entertainment – whales to starboard
• 8.30pm – retreat to cabin, emails, blog and bed

Our test run revealed that the Helly Hansen jackets, over a thermal, fleece, and down jacket, are excellent.  But my legs were cold so I had to upgrade to proper windproof pants instead of the cheapie waterproofs I brought with me.  I will be well kitted out for the next Winter Series!  Also discovered that capturing birds in flight with my camera is next to impossible.  Have never seen so many giant telephoto lenses.  We spent over an hour outside.

Last night Pete set us a mission, to locate the ship’s webcam, stand in a spot where it can see us, and wave.  The spot was Deck 11, which is all outdoors, and where the running track is.  We stood on the starboard side next to one of the radomes.  Pete found us on the webcam footage.  Here we are!

The evening briefing revealed that we will see land in the early morning, when we enter a sheltered channel and head to Borgen Bay and Damoy Point (if you look on Google Maps the closest you will get is Dorian Bay).  In the morning we have our first Zodiac cruise, then after lunch we go our separate ways.  Ian is on a snowshoeing hike, while I am on a “photo adventure cruise”, which I’m really excited about – 6 people plus a photographer in a Zodiac, getting up really close to the wildlife and picking the best angles for hopefully some amazing photos.  Hopefully way better than my attempts at birds.  Of course all is weather dependent, we will just go with the flow.

We may lose wifi for a few days as we head further south so if nothing is posted, that’s why. In a couple of days we will cross the Antarctic Circle.