We cast off our lines in the wee hours of the morning and were halfway down the Beagle Channel by dawn. The early risers were treated to a display of breaching by a mother and calf pair of humpback whales. Then it was out into the Drake Passage, which lived up to its infamous reputation: a relentless strong wind, gusting up to 65 knots, whipped the sea into a frenzy. From the aft deck we watched the seabirds in awe as they deftly used the wind to their advantage, hurtling by and arcing high above the horizon. As the storm system passes to our east tonight, we hope to make better progress as we head south towards the Antarctic Convergence Zone and the Southern Ocean proper.