Last evening we set sail from the Argentine port of Ushuaia under a beautiful evening sky. There was a fresh breeze in the Beagle Channel as we headed eastward. Our channel pilot directed us through and then quickly departed sending us to the eastern entrance of the famous channel where off we went into the southern ocean–our voyage had begun.
In the first light of the morning we could see Staten Island on the starboard side of the ship. Our course was taking us northeasterly for the distant archipelago of the Falkland Islands. On the bridge there were a number of staff spotting a wide variety of seabirds. This would be a regular cluster of staff, guests and, of course, officers guiding the ship or keeping watch for wildlife.
To begin we were introduced to the ship’s compliment of natural history staff. Quite varied in expertise and experience they all had quite different personalities and interests. We then learned about Zodiac operations in preparation for the many times during the voyage that we would be using the craft to get ashore or cruise closely to shore. Later in the morning the photo instructors presented an Introduction to Digital Photography followed by hands-on help sessions.
As the day progressed the wind slowly increased causing the seas to also build. By the afternoon the wind was gusting strongly but the National Geographic Explorer handled the rather confused seas quite well. Our afternoon included a talk from naturalist and ornithologist Santiago on Seabirds of the Southern Ocean. Seabirds have successfully evolved to the marine environment and surviving in the cold open seas of the south. Later Russ Evans talked about growing up on the Falkland Islands and what life is like in this remote destination.
By late afternoon most people were getting comfortable with the ship’s motion. The main lounge was full of guests braving the conditions with their favorite cocktail. We had our first evening Recap learning a bit about various aspects of what we encountered today. A restful sleep gently rocked by the ship’s motion was on most people’s agenda following dinner. Tomorrow we would be in the Falkland Islands.
Live from South Georgia—watch on Facebook!
Right now our climbing team is transiting the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia making their way across the island to the ruins of Stromness whaling station. They are following in the footsteps of Sir Ernest Shackleton who made the same trek 100 years ago in a successful bid to save his entire crew of Endurance. Our trekkers will walk into Stromness tomorrow, and we’ll interview them live on National Geographic’s Facebook page!
