Northern Drake Passage
Latitude 57’07 S, Longitude 066’54
At 6:00 this morning, the wind was coming in from WNW, with a wind speed of 25-30 knots. The sky was gray with light rain, and the air temperature around 40°F. This morning, we also had very good bird watching. Around the ship we had birds that included blue petrels, white-chinned petrels, pintado petrels, sooty shearwaters, black-browed albatrosses, and wandering albatrosses, to mention a few.
After 7:00, the wind picked up to gale force 7 and more whitecaps occurred. A few guests were brave enough to come and visit the Bridge, where they took pictures of the waves spraying the ship’s bow. They all seemed proud to be standing upright, able to describe a real adventure in the rough Drake Passage when they return home.
During breakfast, the ship started to pitch. To our surprise, most of the guests enjoyed breakfast, laughing at each other bouncing around. We all were in very good spirits, knowing this is our last hour in the famous Howling 50’s. Our staff member Eduardo Shaw gave a presentation about Shackleton’s famous explorations of Antarctica.
When we approached the rugged cliffs of Cape Horn, the Bridge and the Chart Room suddenly filled up with people taking pictures of the famous horn. Eduardo read a poem of Sara Vidal called “The Forgotten Soul of the Ancient Mariner.” During lunch, the temperature raised and the water became smoother as we approached the Beagle Channel. We all enjoyed the scenery of the wild landscape of Tierra del Fuego on both sides of the ship. Around 3pm we took on an Argentinian pilot and after Captain’s Farewell Dinner we went alongside the pier of Ushuaia. Everyone could go for a walk along the street to enjoy a last evening in port. It was a wonderful, relaxing end to a fantastic exploration of the White Continent.
