At Sea towards the Falkland Islands
In reality our day started very early this morning from a windy dock in Puerto Madryn, Argentina. Held up for a few hours due to high winds, National Geographic Explorer remained in port until local authorities deemed our departure (and the necessary pilot transfer) safe. This put us on course for the Falkland Islands just past midnight this morning and we have been underway in moderately calm seas ever since.
The Falkland Islands lie 585 nautical miles south/south east from Puerto Madryn and have been the topic on everyone’s lips throughout the day. In preparation for what will be a windy, culturally unique, seabird heavy couple of days, we had a host of lectures geared towards preparing us for all that lies ahead.
What was below our feet throughout the day however was a moderate swell (5-10ft) from the southwest. That swell gave us the first bit of motion of the trip and, additionally, served as the “sea-legs” builder we will almost certainly need at some point in the voyage. On our tail were dozens upon dozens of giant petrels (northern and southern), numerous black-browed and royal albatross and, all around us, at least a dozen distinct species of seabird from the tiny Wilson’s Storm petrel to the massive royal albatross just mentioned. Despite our geologically isolated location at sea, the wildlife was abundant and varied. In addition to hours spent behind binoculars looking for the tiniest species out there, the photo team organized a workshop on how to freeze the graceful flight of the birds all around us. A few minutes spent on technicalities led to us all spilling out onto the aft deck to test our hands, eyes and equipment in the digital avian hunt.
Now, nearly 24 hours out from Puerto Madryn we are nearly smack dab between the east coast of Argentina and the Falkland Islands. The skies cleared earlier for a seamless sunset over the southern Atlantic Ocean and all spirits seem to be high as we motor southeast to tomorrow’s destination.
