At Sea, Drake Passage
It is much easier to appreciate something you have to work for than something that is handed to you. With seas in the moderate category (7-8 meters in height being average for the Drake Passage) our day was spent in that transitory mode, making adjustments to new motions, sounds, climate and of course wildlife. With the presence of 25-50 mph winds throughout the morning we had the honor of being escorted south by the wings of albatross, petrels and fulmars. Without these winds our avian companions would be relegated to the water. But, bring the wind and these animals are at home. The first species identified on the bridge this morning was none other than the wandering albatross. At home in the southern ocean and most comfortable at the wind speeds experienced today there were numerous individuals of various ages present since before breakfast until now, well into the dinner hour. Flying alongside these champion gliders were smaller yet no less well adapted species such as cape petrels, southern fulmars, giant petrels and even the equally large southern royal albatross which breeds in New Zealand.
Transiting south from the lush, verdant world of the northern latitudes into an ice age of glaciers and icebergs can be like traveling back in time – twelve to fifteen thousand years to be exact. Everyone aboard has read about this white continent, but there is not much we can do to prepare those aboard for the magnitude of what is to come. That is what the Drake Passage is for - to help us transition between a land of vegetation and civilization to one of mettle and unadulterated beauty. It’s that “tempestuous moat” of wind and waves separating the arm chair travelers from those on this ship, right now, heading towards the great white continent and everything it holds close.
