An easy sail down the Bransfield Strait during the night made for a comfortable night’s sleep for mostly everyone, and we woke to steely grey but calm seas. Pre-breakfast smoothies went down well for those of us who managed to wake up early and nab one – they go fast! Early morning sightings from the bridge included our first look at humpback whales, and then a rare sighting of a Southern Right whale, identified by its big round body and no dorsal fin. It is very rare to see one this far south. Birds identified from the bridge include a black-browed albatross, southern giant petrels, and numerous pintados.
The morning was largely taken up with mandatory zodiac management and IATO protocol lectures, and the ever-popular “vacuum party”. This is bio-security management. All items of outerwear, boots and dry-bags must be inspected and vacuumed to ensure no foreign material will be transported (in Velcro straps for example), and boot soles are washed in a decontamination solution before and after zodiac landings. The last thing anyone wants is for the pristine environment of Antarctica to be contaminated by introduced species of anything.
An informative demonstration from Steve Bailey, one of the two resident ornithologists on the ship, on the correct use of binoculars had passengers outside seeing close-ups in a way they never had before. Who knew that most people look first into the binoculars before they lift them to find their subject, and then wonder why they couldn’t find it? Tip of the day, that one!
After lunch we sailed through Neptune’s Bellows, the very narrow and often dangerous entrance to Deception Island, which is the caldera of an active volcano. Fortunately, volcanic activity has only destroyed bases twice in the last 6 0 years!!
Some people hiked the 5km round trip up to “The Nipple”, where views to the large chinstrap penguin colony living in the adjacent bay can be seen, others did a less strenuous one hour hike up the hill, and still others did a historical walk around the old whaling stations. Unfortunately, the weather was unsuitable for kayaking, so those wanting to do so would have to wait at least another day before their first paddle.
The final activity for the day was the “Polar Plunge” into the steamy hot waters on the shore of Whaler’s Bay. The waters were indeed steamy, but the temperature was around 3°C (~38°F)! Those brave (or foolish) enough to test their mettle in the frigid waters were in and out in under 10 seconds! A mighty feat indeed!
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