Drake Passage
Yesterday we sailed from Ushuaia down the Beagle Channel on a lovely calm evening. During dinner we sighted Puerto Williams on our starboard side; it has become a large settlement and no doubt soon will be the southernmost city in the world. Many, after dinner, took time to enjoy a beautiful sunset as we sailed past the islands of Lennox, Nueva and Picton and then out into the open sea.
Throughout today we have enjoyed a very calm Drake and our progress across this infamous body of water is aided by a following sea. Seabirds accompany us in a patchy sort of way, probably due to the calm conditions. However by the end of the day most of us have caught glimpses of White-chinned Petrel, Giant Petrel, Blue Petrel, Black-browed Albatross and of course the magnificent Wandering Albatross effortlessly plying the Southern Ocean and treating us all to a flight master class.
During the afternoon we crossed an important milestone, the Antarctic Convergence, where the sea temperatures dropped from 7.1oC to 4.5oC between 58o 20’ to 58o 50’ S. latitude. The air felt noticeably cooler.
In the middle of the Captain’s welcome cocktail we finally crossed the 60o parallel and so have entered Political Antarctica. We are close to our destination and await tomorrow with much expectation.
