I Feel The "Earth" Move

"I feel the earth move under my feet..." Carole King

It was a'rockin last night as we left the Beagle and headed out into the Drake for day one of our two day crossing. I managed to get some sleep in between the vertical up and down sliding and the constant rolling. Neil was not as fortunate.

As measured, the maximum tilt experienced was 29° around 2AM. We "wake" up to very messy toilets and broken crockery, the crew working diligently to clean things up while the waves continue to batter the Polar Pioneer.

A quiet day, we see a fin whale from the bridge deck as it quickly comes up for air. Some sea birds but not much else.

We get a lecture on the first discoverers, from Magellan onwards. Ultimately learning that it was a Russian, Bellinghausen, that first discovered Antarctica in 1821. A disappointing fact that was not well received by our Ukrainian passengers.

A nice lecture on the 18 species of penguins with specific focus on the three species (and one sub species) we will see on our journeys.

The waves calm down later in the day promising a better sleep tonight as we head into Antarctic waters tonight and then cross the 60° parallel.Read more