Drake Passage

 

On the 7th of September 1578 Francis Drake was hit by a storm, having just sailed through the Straits of Magellan and was blown far south to 57°S, to a place where the oceans “meete in a most large and free scope.” This showed that if there existed a Terra Australis, it would be further south and not connected to South America, as was shown on some of the maps of the time.

 

The events of that day are recorded thus: “The second day into our entrance into the South Sea (called by some the Mare Pacificum, but by us Mare Furiosum) God by contrary wind and intolerable tempest seemed to set himself against us …”
 Indeed the tempest was such that in another entry to the diary we can read as follows:

 

“A tempest so violent, of such continuance, that it lasted from September 7 to October 28, a full 52 days.”

 

This tale of woe and hardship was to be repeated many times over the next two centuries as sailing ships tried to round the Horn. Today this infamous body of water bearing Drake’s name continues to instill in us a sense of foreboding and trepidation.

 

However our ship copes well with the challenging seas and makes good progress south throughout the day. We have opportunities to attend our first presentations to learn about the seabirds we are likely to spot on our journey and also to better understand our cameras, which hopefully will capture those many moments that we will experience and better equip us to tell those back at home our tales of adventure.

 

From the bridge and the decks on the ship we sight seabirds and on several occasions we spot those most wondrous of seagoing travelers, the albatrosses. Interestingly, today one of the first to be seen is the sleek and beautiful light-mantled sooty albatross. Before the day is done we are in awe of the giant wanderers as they effortlessly ply the waves and thoroughly master the conditions.

 

By the middle of the afternoon we have passed the biological boundary into Antarctica, known as the Antarctic Convergence. The fog banks as well as the markedly cooler air temperatures confirm this. Shortly after cocktails we have also crossed the political boundary to the Seventh Continent marked by the 60th parallel. By this stage the sea conditions have improved considerably.

 

It has been a very good start to our epic adventure.