Day 273: Antarctic Cruise Day 9 – The Drake Passage
Today marked a transition in our journey, where our trip changed from “scenic cruising” to “expedition-mode,” as we left human civilization and entered the dreaded Drake Passage. The Drake Passage is the turbulent body of water between Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica, connecting the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. While it is infamous as having the “roughest seas in the world,” the 1,000KM crossing is the shortest route from any continent to Antarctica (which is why over 90% of all expeditions leave from Ushuaia, Argentina, rather than South Africa or New Zealand).
We were expecting to suffer the “Drake Shake,” especially since our cabin was at the very bouncy position at the front of the boat. When we woke up, we peeked out our balcony window and were greeted by the sight of massive white caps and stormy skies. We popped some seasickness tablets as a preventative precaution and stumbled about our activities as the ship lurched back and forth.
We wake up to rough seas – we are about halfway through the Drake Passage. Winds were gusting over 50 knots!
Luckily for us, the swell didn’t last very long. Around noon, the clouds started to part and the wind died down. All of a sudden, we were sailing through a relatively calm “Drake Lake”! We were soon to discover that we were just starting a week-long stretch of abnormally good weather. Igor spent the afternoon on deck with the Expedition Team, looking for whales (didn’t spot any) and watching huge albatrosses soaring gracefully behind the Quest as we continued our journey south.
Crossing the Antarctic Convergence, where the relatively warmer (4⁰C), blue waters of the north meet the ice-cold (+2⁰C to -2⁰C), sleet-colored waters of the Southern Ocean. Despite the drop in temperature, Igor keeps an eye out for albatross.
Our day was surprisingly busy for an at sea day as we had a lot of prep work to complete before our arrival in Antarctica the next day. First of all, all the guests on the ship had to attend a mandatory briefing from the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO) – an organization that sets strict guidelines for *anyone* setting foot on the continent, to ensure the environmental protection of the most pristine land on the planet. Many of the rules were quite obivous, following the standard, “Leave nothing but footprints; take nothing but photographs; kill nothing but time,” mantra of most eco-tourism outfits. However, the IAATO guideline included an extra layer of protection by requiring all guests to undergo a Bio-security check – similar to Chile, Australia and New Zealand’s prohibitions against foreign foodstuff and soiled shoes, only WAY more intense.
In order to get the greenlight to get off the ship, we had to bring EVERYTHING we planned to bring offshore (pants, hats, gloves, cameras, backpacks, hiking sticks, tripods, etc.) to the Expedition Team for approval. Every item was thoroughly inspected for bits of dirt that might carry bateria and seeds that might accidentally introduce invasive species, and then vaccuumed clean for extra measure. It was a bit time consuming, but it’s a relief to know that a even a huge commercial operation like Seabourn goes the extra mile to ensure that their trips do no harm to the environment.
Everyone on the ship must attend the mandatory IAATO presentation if they want to step foot on Antarctica.
Our rental boots arrived the night before, so we try them on to make sure they fit before storing them in our assigned locker at the back of the ship, where our used gear goes through a Bio-security check and gets vaccuumed clean of foreign contaminants