Drake Passage
Homeward bound in the Drake Passage is always bittersweet and today was no exception. Until we sailed into the lee of Cape Horn, we had an interesting crossing albeit one that suits albatross just fine. We've certainly had our share of the storms coming out of every direction! Strong, sustained westerlies (the furious fifties) looped around twice in the past two days. We had to check which side of the ship was the leeward side every time we went out on deck. Our old friends the pintado petrels flew alongside the ship and giant petrels followed us nearly all the way into the Beagle Channel. Wandering and royal albatross gave way to black-browed and gray-headed albatross as we approached the latitude of Cape Horn.
Between swirling systems of concentrated winds, we've experienced brilliant sunshine. As I write this we are well into the Beagle Channel, the light playing off of the peaks in ways I've only seen here. Maybe that's what makes photography, birdwatching or just staring out the window so special down here. Perhaps the combination of shifting winds, cresting wave angles and brilliant sunshine all come together when it is sometimes least expected. Lisa said tonight that we may have used up all of the good weather days for the season, but I count all days at sea good weather days, especially the windy ones, for they kick up my favorite of all the great flying seabirds, the magnificent albatross of the Southern Ocean.
Homeward bound in the Drake Passage is always bittersweet and today was no exception. Until we sailed into the lee of Cape Horn, we had an interesting crossing albeit one that suits albatross just fine. We've certainly had our share of the storms coming out of every direction! Strong, sustained westerlies (the furious fifties) looped around twice in the past two days. We had to check which side of the ship was the leeward side every time we went out on deck. Our old friends the pintado petrels flew alongside the ship and giant petrels followed us nearly all the way into the Beagle Channel. Wandering and royal albatross gave way to black-browed and gray-headed albatross as we approached the latitude of Cape Horn.
Between swirling systems of concentrated winds, we've experienced brilliant sunshine. As I write this we are well into the Beagle Channel, the light playing off of the peaks in ways I've only seen here. Maybe that's what makes photography, birdwatching or just staring out the window so special down here. Perhaps the combination of shifting winds, cresting wave angles and brilliant sunshine all come together when it is sometimes least expected. Lisa said tonight that we may have used up all of the good weather days for the season, but I count all days at sea good weather days, especially the windy ones, for they kick up my favorite of all the great flying seabirds, the magnificent albatross of the Southern Ocean.
