Ship Day 4: Another Day at Sea

December 8, 2016      (reprinted from allisonwanderssome.wordpress.com)

 

This is the second day of our passage and we crossed the South Atlantic Convergence Zone today, which is the demarcation line between the South Atlantic and the Antarctic oceans. The outside temperature dropped and the sea is now several degrees cooler. It’s a bit foggy and misty outside and therefore damp, with slippery decks which is keeping most of the passengers inside. The ship has been making good time, I think a front behind us has been pushing us along, so we’ll pass by Shag Rocks this afternoon which is often a great place to see whales and birds feeding in the upwelling cold water so I’m sure all the shutterbugs will venture out for that.  This morning’s first lecture was Photography 101, a timely reminder of the basics for many and an introduction for me but probably too simplified for most, based on the incredible zoom lenses I’ve been seeing some passengers tote around.

Second lecture was on Antarctic Fur Seals, this time it was more academic than the video presentation of yesterday. What was of interest was the fact that the seals were hunted for their fur between 1790 – 1908 almost to extinction; yet they managed to recover from a sighting of a single seal in 1915 to almost 4 million today. 95% of the world’s fur seals are on South Georgia Island.



The lunch bell rang at 1300 (not literally, everything is announced over the P.A.). Another meal!! And the chef is doing such an amazing job. Not only does she and her team prepare 3 meals a day + afternoon tea; each lunch and dinner is 4 courses, with 2 and 3 different choices. We bemoan the fact we always seem to be eating but love each delicious bite.  Right at the end of lunch we sailed abeam Shag Rocks so we snatched up our chocolate chip cookies from the waiter before he could even put the plate on the table and ran to our cabin to get our cameras and cold weather gear.  It wasn’t much to see really, but it was cool as it was actually was snowing outside with tiny white dots swirling past in the ship’s breeze – it’s been a long time since I’ve seen snow!

The shutterbugs shooting Shag Rocks (Gail’s right in front in the blue!)



At 3pm we had our Mandatory South Georgia briefing down in the bowels of the ship, also known as the Presentation Room. The governing agency of the island is trying hard to prevent any further ecological harm by careless tourists tromping over birds nests, introducing errant seeds or weeds, or ships bringing in rats or cats or other such potential disasters. We had to watch a 40 minute film, then sign off that we agreed to follow the principles set forth in the video. This would not normally be an onerous task as there were lots of pretty shots of the penguins and seals and gorgeous scenery except that with a room full of warm bodies and the gentle rocking of the ship it was murder trying not to fall asleep! Each time my head would bob I’d either bite my cheek or pinch my hand, hoping physical pain would rouse me! Finally released from Tomb of Orpheus we had a further chore of Bio Securing our expedition gear. Again to prevent those wandering weeds, every nook and cranny and Velcro strap on our outside layers & camera bags had to be vacuumed. They called us down by deck levels and just as I was halfway through my gear the Russian first mate announced that Orcas were spotted off the Port Bow. We all dropped our hoovers and rushed outside in our t-shirts, not having the wherewithal to actually put on the protective gear that was just in our hands! I saw a single splash so after 3 minutes I went back inside to finish up my gear, signed my Bio Security affidavit and returned to our cabin.

“ORCAS!” came the announcement again. “Portside, 10 o’clock”. Well, our cabin is on the port side and I could see them from our window!! Jacket, puffy, hat & gloves and I was out on deck with my camera. The orcas stayed alongside for a good 10-15 minutes, jumping in the small waves about 100-200m from the boat. I counted 5 orcas, with at least 2 babies. What a fantastic experience.


The whale experience and sighting Shag Rocks (its often shrouded in mist & fog) kind of interefered with our afternoon’s schedule so the lecture on Shackleton was canceled, leaving us with plenty of time for afternoon tea and time for blogging or editing our photos.

Oh, and we had our first iceberg sighting today!! Then it was two. And the seabirds were back, riding the air currents created by the ship, coasting on the draughts up from the stern, then peeling away right outside our window. Simon, quite calmly but with a tremor of excitement in his voice, came over the PA announcing that a blue whale had been sighted off the bow. Then several humpbacks came along, blowing and breaching; and a pack of fur seals, jumping just like dolphins, hurried away from the boat. Dinner was delayed at least half an hour due to the plethora of wildlife sightings, I hope the chef wasn’t too upset.

Dessert was served upstairs in the sky lounge: an ice cream sundae buffet! It was so late that the four of us early birds even managed to stay up for the daily fireside chat. Each night a crew member has the stage to tell a story or share an event…just a 15 minute chat or entertainment about something. Tonight it was Franco’s turn. He weaved together a tale about the discovery of the deep sea hydrothermal vents, Woods Hole, and his work at the science museum in Sudbury, Ontario. It was interesting and he’s a good public speaker so it was a nice end to the evening.