The Scotia Sea
With South Georgia to the east and south of us and our course set for a return to the Falkland Islands we spent the day in transit. There are 740 nautical miles separating these two island groups as well as a notoriously grumpy body of water called the Scotia Sea—named after a Scottish expedition ship of the same name. Bordered by the Southern and Atlantic Oceans the Scotia is pounded by the same weather patterns and prevailing winds that have effectively isolated Antarctica into the ice block that it is. Not only that but it is south of the Antarctic convergence meaning it is fed by the colder southern ocean waters instead of the relatively warmer Atlantic waters and sits squarely in the path of the “Furious Fifties” (strong circum polar winds) also fueling the assumption that this should be a wild ride!
With the propaganda out of the way let me describe our day. We awoke roughly 150 nautical miles from South Georgia—smack dab in the middle of the danger zone to 5-10 mph winds pushing us towards our destination, glassy calm waters and zero swell!! With a collective sigh of relief we went about our day as if everything were normal but with three very interesting additions we didn’t see coming.
First, we were boarded by a stowaway overnight and our Ornithologist, Richard took the liberty of collecting, describing and then releasing this disoriented animal—specifically a Blue Petrel (halobaena caerulea). Likely drawn to the lights of our ship this South Georgian breeder no doubt flew towards and then into our ship until we found it early this morning.
Second, due to the unprecedented conditions and the fact that our course took us near a seamount (underwater mountain whose tip lies not far under the surface) we decided to take a closer look and possibly even drop our Remotely Operated Vehicle. If it were not for the fact that the depths indicated on our chart were inaccurate (we calculated 420 meters down to the top while our chart listed the top at 100 meters) we would no doubt have had the first glimpse of this geologic feature. Instead we noted the error and continued on our way.
Finally, and thanks to the incredible conditions we were able to spot not only a minke whale but a small pod of hourglass dolphins and even four southern bottlenose whales. These elusive animals are a rare treat and possible to spot only in conditions like these.
Who would have predicted such a crossing? Certainly not our Captain who looks skeptical each evening the next day’s forecast is announced. One too many bumpy rides I suppose!
