RWSE Day 27: Drake Passage Day 2

“An Antarctic expedition is the worst way to have the best time of your life.”
~~ Apsley Cherry-Garrard ~~

Woke up to a colorful morning … the hues quickly changing from pastel pinks to bright yellows and deep oranges. What a great way to start the last day of our expedition!

I braved the wind to go out and get a couple of quick sunrise shots before retreating to the cabin. Having crossed the Atlantic Convergence overnight, the temperature had warmed up from the previous days … but the windchill from by the 25-knot wind was enough to encourage a day indoors. Otherwise, the conditions weren’t bad. Certainly, the sea was slight … with gentle swells to remind us that we were still on a ship, cruising toward South America.

Our official wake up call this morning was an interesting one … courtesy of Tennessee and Gary … the former imitating the voice of Sir David Attenborough; the latter imitating the calls of penguins and birds. They made quite the comedy team.

After breakfast, we joined Allan for a presentation titled “The Curious Case of Admiral Byrd’s Antarctic Snow Cruiser” … an intriguing and unusual topic that we had never heard or read about previously. He regaled us with the story of a ground-breaking engineering project … part of the 1939 US Antarctic Service Expedition led by Admiral Richard Byrd. The images Allan shared of the 55-foot, 30-ton, diesel-electric cruiser — which failed to live up to expectations — could well have been something out of science fiction … except that there were historic photos of the vehicle to back up his presentation.

(For those interested, here’s a link to more information about Byrd’s Cruiser: https://www.antarcticacruises.com/guide/antarct….)

I previously mentioned that we have a group of passengers on the ship who have been diving in the icy Antarctic waters. Following Allan’s presentation, Becky Kagan-Schott, one of the leaders of the group and an underwater photographer of some note, gave a brief presentation … featuring some incredible photographs.

Around 2:00p, Ortelius began its approach to the Beagle Channel. Most of us went up on the deck behind the bridge to bid the helicopter team adios. It was a bitter sweet farewell. We enjoyed getting to know them, and appreciate the work they put in to ensure our flights were not only fun, but safe in the harsh Antarctic conditions.

As Ortelius entered the Beagle Channel, the usually sheltered waters showed whitecaps; the wind was strong, making it difficult to stand on the foredecks. But we persevered as the channel was filled with whales … mostly blows; occasional fins and flukes … all distant, but visible to the naked eye.

At 6:15p, when we would have normally gathered for the daily recap, we all came together in the bar for Captain Remmert’s farewell cocktail party. The highlight of the event was the expedition slideshow that Claudio put together. It brought back the wonderful memories we made on this voyage. After dinner, expedition members were standing by in the lounge to copy the slideshow and a few other files to our personal devices.

Before the end of the evening, those who had bid generously on the expedition flag that’s been flying on the bow since we left Ushuaia and the navigational chart for the voyage received their items. The money raised by the auction — held while we were in SGI — will benefit the South Georgia Heritage Trust.

Ortelius has yet to dock in Ushuaia. The lights are twinkling off in the distance, however, so I am sure we’ll get there soon enough. In the meantime … one last sleep for us aboard the ship.Leggi altro