Gerlache Strait, Cuverville Island, and Lemaire Channel
We awoke early this morning on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula, cruising within the very beautiful Gerlache Strait. This body of water measures nearly 200 miles in length and is surrounded by tall, rugged mountains, numerous islands, passes, and bays, and countless glaciers. Just before breakfast, we encountered four humpback whales and stopped to get a look at them (Figure A). They were as inquisitive as we and promptly came over to the vessel in order to check us out, sticking their heads above water (a behavior known as spy-hopping) to get a better look.
Right after breakfast, we landed at Cuverville Island, a very interesting small, rocky island in the middle of the Errera Channel between Ronge Island and the Arctowski Peninsula. Cuverville is an important breeding site for about 6,000 pairs of gentoo penguins, as well as giant petrels, pintado petrels, snow petrels, Wilson’s storm-petrels, blue-eyed shags, snowy sheathbills, both species of skuas, kelp gulls, and Antarctic terns. It’s also rich in vegetation, including extensive moss beds and lichens on the steep rocky slopes behind the cobblestone beach, and a few clumps of hair grass on the rocks behind the landing. The gentoos were noticeably calmer and more mellow than the frenetic chinstraps we encountered yesterday, and we also noticed their chicks were smaller and younger than what we saw yesterday in the South Shetland Islands. That is because the breeding season starts a little later here, as we are much farther south, but it is worth pointing out that the number of days of the breeding season throughout most of the peninsular region has been lengthening in the past couple decades. One interesting ramification of this is the fact that gentoo penguins, which have a longer fledging period than most other penguins, are now extending their range much farther south in the peninsular region than what has been observed since humans first came here. Many of the adults had already started their annual molt, appearing rather bedraggled as they stood and lay around with nothing much to do while waiting for their new plumage to grow out (Figure B).
Most of us also took advantage of the fine conditions this morning to go out into the Errera Channel with the kayaks. The blue icebergs aground in the channel were especially photogenic and the one large leopard seal lounging on a bergy bit attracted a lot of attention.
We continued southward throughout the rest of the day and passed through the Lemaire Channel in the late afternoon. This waterway, located between the peninsular mainland and Booth Island measures about one mile wide by about seven miles in length and the walls consist of high, steep, snow-covered mountains with many glaciers lining the way. It is surely one of the prettiest spots in Antarctica, but a heavy snowfall and foggy conditions made it difficult to see much during our transit. Maybe it will have better conditions on the way back north later in the voyage.
