Tierra del Fuego - Cape Horn, Ushuaia

Noon Position: Chilean Navy Station, Cape Horn.
Wind: NW Force 2.
Sea: calm
Visibility: good.
Air Temp: 11ºC.
Water: 9.2ºC.


Although some of us were wishing for a storm across the Drake to see what it would be like, it has remained calm as the rest of us had hoped for. Because it had been a calm crossing we had gained valuable time and were thus able to arrange for a Chilean Pilot to meet us near Cape Horn so that we could sail to the Horn and then back to the Chilean Navy Station and lighthouse to make a landing, the last of this voyage. We arrived early, just after breakfast, but there was another ship already here so we had to let them disembark first. We took this opportunity to sail around the corner to position ourselves just off the actual point of Cape Horn. Mnay photographs were taken including a group one of us all, with the Cape in the background.

The landing beach was flat calm and we stepped out of the boat onto a cobbled beach before hiking up the set of steps (over a hundred) to the top of the cliffs. From there a wooden boardwalk took us to the lighthouse, church and gift shop or, in the opposite direction, to the albatross monument which commemorates the lives of the sailors who perished rounding the Horn over the years, especially in the days of sail. This is a rather peculiar sculpture as it is the gap between two large sheets of metal that is actually the albatross, very unusual but spectacular. A good place to have the last photographs of the voyage taken. We would also have a stamp in our passports from here.

Then it was plain sailing around the islands and back into the Beagle Channel and Ushuaia where our amazing journey started just over a week ago. So many memories and so many photographs to edit once we all get back home in a couple of days' time. A very enjoyable, eye opening and unforgettable voyage to the last unspoilt continent on our planet. What an experience, what a privilege, quite unlike any other place on Earth. Long may it remain so.

At sea - Drake Passage

Noon Position: 60º 33'S, 065º 59.4' W.
Wind: SW Force 5-6.
Sea: moderate
Visibility: poor.
Air Temp: 6ºC.
Water: 4ºC.

Today has really been a winding down day after the exertions of the past week or so. The Drake has so far behaved itself impeccably and the ship is hardly moving around. The visibility today has not been too good but so long as it remains calm that will not be an issue!

Today has been a day of lectures from the expedition staff. The lectures are a key part of an expedition cruise such as this one. However, lecture time is always at a premium and is usually during the crossing of the Drake Passage when there is nothing else to do. Once down the Peninsula it is far more important to land or Zodiac cruise and actually experience the Antarctic than to be told about it. This is after all what we came here to experience. However these lectures are an important part of the whole experience and when one is put on for us we are all very keen to attend and learn more about this special place.

Wildlife wise there has been very little around the ship today. A few Cape Petrels and the occasional albatross, but the calm conditions are not favourable for the appearance of seabirds. These birds are designed for wind and they will be where the wind is. A Wandering albatross can be away from land for seven or more years, just circling the Southern Ocean on the winds without ever a glimpse of land. That is what they do best.

The Captain announced tonight that we would be approaching Cape Horn tomorrow morning and, weather permitting, we would be making a landing there. That is something that we are all looking forward to and we hope that the weather will be suitable for our landing.

The photograph today is from a previous voyage and shows an ice penguin, a very rare creature indeed!

Antarctic Peninsula - Port Lockroy, Neko Harbour

Noon Position: Neumayer Channel.
Wind: SW Force 4.
Sea: choppy
Visibility: good.
Air Temp: 4ºC.
Water: 3ºC.


We had anchored overnight at Port Lockroy and whem we awoke the wind was blowing and the sea was fairly rough. Not too rough though to go ashore at the old British Base "A". This was established in 1944 because the Admiralty were worried that German surface raiders could be using this area to hide and re-supply before heading out into the Atlantic to sink Allied shipping. After the war station was handed over to be used for science and was abandoned in the 1960's. It has since been re-furbished and is now a Post Office and gift shop. It was fascinating to walk around and see how they lived and see what kinds of food they had. For a lot of us it brought back memories from our earlier years! The station was surrounded by several Gentoo penguin rookeries and they were literally at our feet, sometimes pecking at our leggings or boots; magic. Once again, the station was too small to accommodate us all at once so the other half did a Zodiac cruise around the bay where a yacht was anchored. By the end of our landing the sun had made an appearance and the mountains which surround Port Lockroy were visible. We had an enjoyable lunch whilst heading towards our last landing here in the Antarctic.

Neko Bay is a lovely spot, especially in the sunny and calm conditions we found it to be in when we arrived. There is a glacier that falls into the sea on one side and a snow slope going up to another glacier on the other side. This side also has several Gentoo penguin rookeries and the remains of an Argentine refuge hut which blew down last winter. These remains could not be removed this season because the penguins were nesting amongst them. THe sun shinning on the glacier which was reflected in the mirror calm sea beneath was a sight to behold. A lone Leopard seal was sleeping on an ice floe in the middle of the bay. We had the opportunity to walk up the snow slope and look down on the front of the glacier which was an amazing thing to be able to do. Because it was so warm this afternoon the glacier was active and several large chunks of ice fell off with a resounding "crack". Loud enough once to wake the seal and make it enter the water. Both the adults and chicks were trying to stay cool by standing on the snow patches or in the meltwater streams running down from the snow slope. We also had a similar problem and were shedding layers one by one! Inevitably it was time to leave these spectacular surroundings and we reluctantly headed back to the beach for the Zodiacs and our last cruise back to the ship. If we could have wished for a better ending to our voyage than this it would not have been possible. It was a perfect afternoon in every respect and we stayed out on the decks until dinner because the light and the scenery were just too good to miss.

We are now heading back to the South Shetland Islands, where it all began, before then heading north across the Drake Passage. We are all wondering how it will treat us this time!