Day 3

Tuesday 18^th February 2014

Total on Board: 50 – a full ship, Voyage crew 35, 8 permanent crew, 2 supernumerary Antarctica experts, 1 watch keeper (to look for ice), 4 volunteers.

Voyage crew from: England, Croatia, Dublin, Australia, Scotland, New Zealand, France, Portugal, Belgium and Jersey.

Hola! [Spanish for Ahoy of course?]…

Here we all are making our gentle way across Drake’s Passage in a stunning royal/navy blue ocean, with a 360 degree totally visible horizon, followed by sooty shearwaters and cape petrels which we hasten to add are not pirate ships, but seabirds. Dolphins were sighted in the Beagle Channel yesterday giving us a splendid acrobatic display which they could not have learned in an aquarium.

We are hastening due south, currently 161 nautical miles from Ushuaia at 56 11 south and 064 44 west, in order to avoid the next weather system coming in, meaning that now we have clear blue skies and sunshine – not quite bikini weather as the ocean is 8 degrees but there are a few brave souls wearing shorts and t-shirts; more of a Drake’s Lake.

This morning we had our first presentation from our ice pilot Skip Novak, on cold water survival and respect for the polar eco-system; very happy to have him on board we are too.

We brought our best vocal chords to morning smoko to sing Happy Birthday to Holly across Derek’s delicious chocolate cake.

On watch now, we shall be handling more sails this afternoon, learning more sailing jargon by the minute.

So, hasta luego,

Angela and Peter. Forward Starboard Watch