I now belong to a higher class of mortals,For I have seen the Albatross…
– Robert Cushman Murphy
Late yesterday afternoon the Endeavour left Puerto Madryn, on the Patagonian coast of Argentina, and set her course east by southeast for the island of South Georgia. This will be a unique expedition, combining a rare circumnavigation of the island with an attempt by some of our members to recreate the renowned Shackleton crossing of the high, glaciated interior. Anticipation runs high!
But before we can begin these adventures, we must complete another: a sea voyage of over 1000 nautical miles. This is a time of preparation, of learning and contemplation, and of observation of this lonely, wild ocean. We have already seen that the South Atlantic has many moods, as the winds have slowly clocked around from easterly to northerly and pinpricks of sunshine have penetrated the shredded cloud-deck above us, then disappeared again.
From the moment we left port, constant wildlife sightings have reminded us that, although wild and sometimes forbidding, this is a sea rich in life of all kinds. Our first penguins appeared when the voyage was only minutes old, swimming alongside the ship in the whitecapped waters of Golfo Nuevo, where they were soon joined by a group of south american sea lions. Today, much farther out into the open South Atlantic, we have been treated to a feast of seabirds, including three species of Albatross. Late this morning, after learning about the lives of these remarkable birds in a presentation from naturalist Richard White, we gathered on the pool deck to watch them together. All around the stern they soared, high above the waves, until a tiny shift of weight and wings would send them sliding down the wind, dodging between wave crests for a moment before catching the breeze and gliding up again. Again and again they rose and fell, making the wild winds their own and welcoming us to the Southern Ocean, our first destination, their home.
– Robert Cushman Murphy
Late yesterday afternoon the Endeavour left Puerto Madryn, on the Patagonian coast of Argentina, and set her course east by southeast for the island of South Georgia. This will be a unique expedition, combining a rare circumnavigation of the island with an attempt by some of our members to recreate the renowned Shackleton crossing of the high, glaciated interior. Anticipation runs high!
But before we can begin these adventures, we must complete another: a sea voyage of over 1000 nautical miles. This is a time of preparation, of learning and contemplation, and of observation of this lonely, wild ocean. We have already seen that the South Atlantic has many moods, as the winds have slowly clocked around from easterly to northerly and pinpricks of sunshine have penetrated the shredded cloud-deck above us, then disappeared again.
From the moment we left port, constant wildlife sightings have reminded us that, although wild and sometimes forbidding, this is a sea rich in life of all kinds. Our first penguins appeared when the voyage was only minutes old, swimming alongside the ship in the whitecapped waters of Golfo Nuevo, where they were soon joined by a group of south american sea lions. Today, much farther out into the open South Atlantic, we have been treated to a feast of seabirds, including three species of Albatross. Late this morning, after learning about the lives of these remarkable birds in a presentation from naturalist Richard White, we gathered on the pool deck to watch them together. All around the stern they soared, high above the waves, until a tiny shift of weight and wings would send them sliding down the wind, dodging between wave crests for a moment before catching the breeze and gliding up again. Again and again they rose and fell, making the wild winds their own and welcoming us to the Southern Ocean, our first destination, their home.
