RWSE Day 7: Wrapping Up

As Ortelius left SGI behind, EL Sara came on the P/A with a warning. The sea state in the Scotia Sea was expected to be in the 9 to 13 feet range (3-4m). One hand to the ship was the order of the day.

After lunch, Tennessee had a follow-on practice session in the bridge for those who had attended his sextant & navigation workshop. That meant free time for Mui and me. A lazy afternoon was just what the doctor ordered after our consecutive landings over the past three days.

At 6:15p, we joined the rest of the passengers and the expedition team for the daily recap.

EL Sara jump started things by announcing hoped-for-plans for our next destination — the South Sandwich Islands. She expects that we will reach Zavadovski Island, the northernmost landmass in the chain of islands, sometime tomorrow afternoon. She tempered our excitement by reminding us that Mother Nature will make the final decision on what off-ship activities we can or can’t do … hence the ‘hoped-for’ plans that are always part and parcel of an expedition. Nothing to do but 🤞🏻.

Recap continued with briefing snippets by the expedition team.

Gary elaborated on a few things we’ve seen over the past few days — (1) suckling fur seal pup … Antarctic fur seal mums in South Georgia suckle their pups for 1-2 days before they head to sea to feed themselves for 3-5 days … they then return to nurse the pup … this continues for about 4 months and then the pup is on its own!; (2) a gentoo with brownish feathers on the beach at Gold Harbor … caused by a genetic mutation that affects the production of melanin pigments.

Chloé enlightened us about the lantern fish, the preferred food of the king penguins … there are about 245 species of this fish!

Tennessee wrapped up by talking a bit about what we consider ‘the world’s worst job’ these days … sealing and whaling … and how these animals were hunted for their blubber and skin … especially fur seals.

Off to have dinner now … I’m hungry since I skipped lunch!Read more