Susan R. Eaton
February 14, 2010

Antarctica: Dispatch Number One

We departed Ushuaia, the southernmost city in South America, at 6:00pm on Friday, February 12th. The sun set as we crossed the Beagle Channel, and the snow-capped mountains Tierra del Fuego disappeared into the distance.
Today is our second full day at sea. We’re crossing the Drake Passage, one of the most treacherous bodies of water in the world. Our crossing to the Antarctica Peninsula is approximately 560 nautical miles — it will take about 2.5 days to reach landfall at the bottom of the world. Although the weather has been excellent and the ocean swell minimal, the Professor Molchanov still pitches from side to side, catapulting unsecured items from desktops.

Passengers sleeping in upper bunks — that would be me – toss and turn, literally, in their sleep. We’ve been advised by the Russian crew to strategically plant all four appendages – hands and feet — while navigating the corridors and stair cases of the ship.

Several of the passengers spent the first day of the crossing in their bunks, stricken with motion sickness and nausea. Despite my Maritime roots – and my genetically inherited sea legs – I threw up my breakfast yesterday. In fact, I’ve been feeling squeamish during the entire passage. Even an anti-motion patch behind the ear didn’t help me.

My forays to the upper deck – designed to get fresh air and to reduce my nausea – were rewarded by the sighting of three humpback whales, and several species of petrels and albatrosses. Today, my fellow Explorers saw Minke whales, Orcas, and groups of swimming penguins which ‘porpoise’ through the water like pods of dolphins.
The 57 Explorers have much to learn before setting foot on the continent of Antarctica, and before diving and snorkelling in these frigid waters. The past two days have been chock-a-block full of lectures on the history of Sir Ernest Shackleton, the identification of sea ice, the nesting habits of sea birds, climate change, oceanography, leopard seals, krill and photography. At this point, the Expedition feels a bit like a boot camp – however, the Explorers are enthusiastic, and are anxious to apply their new found knowledge in the field.

As we approach the Antarctica Peninsula – and see our first iceberg — the excitement is building, When we wake up tomorrow morning, we’ll be anchored at the Melchior Islands, located in Dallman Bay on the west coast of the Peninsula. We won’t waste much time, however, tomorrow morning — we’ll get into our Antarctic-rated dry suits, and slip into the frigid waters, in search of leopard seals and penguins.