4/12/2019
56° 18.24 S
65° 18.10 W
Woke up with the rocking and rolling sensation of the boat riding some apparent to be big waves… “we have started our sail in the North part of the Drake passage … there is no doubt about it” thought while still being in bed. Except the comforting sensation of rolling on 5-6 meter swell … while laying down the only worry that I had was if the laptop in the bridge collecting data on our locations… would stay in its position.
It is a Toughbook anyway … so was hoping to be tough in case of a roll away from its position. The visual effort started around 5:20 am still a late start in comparison to southern latitudes where we will find ourselves in a couple of days. Visibility not good but could moderate it. No sing of any whale or other cetacean… would be difficult to detect under these conditions anyway, but still the hope for an encounter closer by is alive. Two black-browen albatrosses were flying crossing the bow of the boat… a tiny storm petrel flapping its wings… and later on a cape petrel… passed by during the 10 min sea-bird observation that we conduct every hour. The effortless flying of the albatross during the 7 sea state winds was obvious and its glides impressive. Black -bowed albatross (Thalassarche melanophrys) are the commonest albatross along the Drake passage. Even if black-browed albatross is the commonest of the albatross in the Drake is the species with under most imminent threat of extinction – it’s one of the most frequently killed seabirds in many longline fisheries
In the Drake Passage we hope to see fin whales, humpback whales maybe blue whales and other species… we will keep you posted for any encounters.
Written by Popi, 4th December 2019