At Sea
Generally speaking days at sea are a time to reflect, a time to relax while reading a book or perhaps catch up on some sleep. Indeed a day at sea is all these things, but for the guests of National Geographic Endeavour, today has brought much, much more. Beautiful sunshine has graced our crossing, lighting the wings of the albatross and petrels that are following us on our course to South Georgia. We have crossed the convergence, so the temperature has dropped slightly, but certainly not enough to deter us from heading out on deck and marveling at the ocean around us. It is days like this that we realize how lucky we are to be traveling through this extraordinary, and mostly untouched, part of the world.
As our day progresses, we slide into habits of chatting with fellow shipmates about our different experiences in the Falklands; we head to the lounge to catch a lecture; we go to breakfast, lunch, tea, and dinner; and we sit in the library gazing through the gigantic glass windows enjoying the sea. Suddenly we are shocked out of our relaxing state into a delighted frenzy, as we are surrounded by 30 – 70 killer whales, bow riding, following, and swimming next to the ship. Everywhere you look these graceful mammals are there, tips of dorsal fins just breaking the surface. They roll 360º looking us directly in the eye as they pass: mothers with children, and the ever present yet slightly reclusive males, their gigantic dorsal fins breaking the surface to the stern of the ship.
Killer Whales, Orcinus orca, whose name literally translates to “Devil from Below,” were feared and prosecuted until the 1960’s, but with the capture of a few individuals, and the subsequent training, the public opinion was transformed, and these animals are now much loved, and icons of intelligent mammal life. The Antarctic populations of these animals are unique and consist of three different Types: A, B, and C. These types are differentiated by a variety of factors from coloring to what kind of food they eat. The type we encountered today were Type B, commonly known as the seal eaters. The general thought from our whale experts onboard is that these animals, which may have consisted of several pods combined together, were traveling south like us, heading to South Georgia, where the fur seal population will be able to sustain them.
After 30 minutes of this spectacular display, the whales trail off, leaving us to wonder, "Did it really happen?" We now race back inside to check our cameras, and catch a breath to absorb what we just experienced. It has been a spectacular day, a warm-up to South Georgia, where we hope that the days there will turn from wonderful to extraordinary.
Generally speaking days at sea are a time to reflect, a time to relax while reading a book or perhaps catch up on some sleep. Indeed a day at sea is all these things, but for the guests of National Geographic Endeavour, today has brought much, much more. Beautiful sunshine has graced our crossing, lighting the wings of the albatross and petrels that are following us on our course to South Georgia. We have crossed the convergence, so the temperature has dropped slightly, but certainly not enough to deter us from heading out on deck and marveling at the ocean around us. It is days like this that we realize how lucky we are to be traveling through this extraordinary, and mostly untouched, part of the world.
As our day progresses, we slide into habits of chatting with fellow shipmates about our different experiences in the Falklands; we head to the lounge to catch a lecture; we go to breakfast, lunch, tea, and dinner; and we sit in the library gazing through the gigantic glass windows enjoying the sea. Suddenly we are shocked out of our relaxing state into a delighted frenzy, as we are surrounded by 30 – 70 killer whales, bow riding, following, and swimming next to the ship. Everywhere you look these graceful mammals are there, tips of dorsal fins just breaking the surface. They roll 360º looking us directly in the eye as they pass: mothers with children, and the ever present yet slightly reclusive males, their gigantic dorsal fins breaking the surface to the stern of the ship.
Killer Whales, Orcinus orca, whose name literally translates to “Devil from Below,” were feared and prosecuted until the 1960’s, but with the capture of a few individuals, and the subsequent training, the public opinion was transformed, and these animals are now much loved, and icons of intelligent mammal life. The Antarctic populations of these animals are unique and consist of three different Types: A, B, and C. These types are differentiated by a variety of factors from coloring to what kind of food they eat. The type we encountered today were Type B, commonly known as the seal eaters. The general thought from our whale experts onboard is that these animals, which may have consisted of several pods combined together, were traveling south like us, heading to South Georgia, where the fur seal population will be able to sustain them.
After 30 minutes of this spectacular display, the whales trail off, leaving us to wonder, "Did it really happen?" We now race back inside to check our cameras, and catch a breath to absorb what we just experienced. It has been a spectacular day, a warm-up to South Georgia, where we hope that the days there will turn from wonderful to extraordinary.
