22 February 2022 – Tuesday – Two Days at Sea

Having left South Georgia island a day early to get ahead of some high winds and seas, we were pushing along at top speed, about 16 knots. I have included the chart of wind predictions in our area for those who are interested. The ship has stabilizers to limit side to side rolling but the forward and aft pitching still happens as we move along with the wind almost directly on our nose. Again we were right to have chosen our cabins on the lowest deck and midship to minimize the effects. I don’t know if others were feeling seasick but we never missed a meal!

One might think that 2 rather rough days at sea would be unpleasant and even boring but we had 4 talks each day and recaps in the evening about our previous stops.
The first day Sheri, our expedition leader, talked about her time working at the tiny South Georgia museum for 6 months. It was in the early 2000’s when over 600 ships visited during the “summer” season. In contrast this year only a handful has visited the island. Apparently one night, 72 passengers got stranded on the land because the wind and waves made it dangerous to take RIBs out to their ship. Sheri and her cohorts fed them dinner and had bedding and pillows for all to sleep on the museum floor. They were gone before dawn.
Nathan, the head photographer, gave a talk about using Lightroom, an advanced application for editing photos. It was interesting but way above my talents.
In the afternoon we had Santiago talk about seabird conservation and Karen talk about the albatross, the 747 of the ocean. Santiago explained how plastics are affecting and killing seabirds. I had always thought that the size and color of a piece might attract them but what actually happens is that algae attaches to the plastic and the smell makes the birds mistake the plastic for food. Almost all seabirds have ingested plastic due to its algae scent. If they eat enough, they starve because they can’t process food for nourishment.
Albatross are super flyers. They can fix their wings out straight so they just soar with the wind currents. Apparently they can fly as fast as 100 km/ hour. They search far and wide for food.

In the evening, we watched a movie about life at McMurdo Station which is the US base in Antarctica. People generally work there for at least 6 months of “summer” but some stay through an entire year. It looks very cold and challenging but there appears to be great beauty and peace in being isolated. They all have jobs to do. I don’t imagine I could work there. I hate being cold although the interior spaces are definitely heated.

Day 2:

Bud, a naturalist who has been coming to Antarctica for many years, talked about climate change solutions. So much needs to be done to save our planet. I can’t recount all his points but on this trip we have seen how the animals are struggling for food and space. It may seem that penguins and whales don’t matter much in our modern life but the balance of nature affects us all. One thing that fascinated me is that cement production is the highest CO2 producer of all industry. There is a move to recycle things like windmill blades into cement or add CO2 back into a cement mix. There is much work to do. Of course plastics are a huge problem too. Glass containers or reusable containers are a good choice. Also, you might think that plastic recycling is a solution but apparently plastic can only be recycled 3 times before it is unusable.
Karen then gave us a taste for our next day by showing us the huge numbers of birds we would see in the Falklands. It looks like an amazing place.
The afternoon sessions included “plastic world” presented by one of our divers, Amy. She showed us examples of all the plastic that has been found in every ocean including Antarctica. Surely everyone has heard of the Pacific gyre, also known as the garbage patch. There the ocean currents have trapped an untold amount of plastic and other garbage some of which no longer floats on the surface. The true amount of garbage is not known.
Santiago then talked about the Falklands war. He grew up in Argentina and was 11 years old at the time. The whole thing seemed so senseless but then war always seems senseless. He said it is very difficult to relive that time of seeing young men only a few years older than him who were virtually untrained being sent from Argentina to the Falklands with little sense of what to do. Very sad.

By dinner time we had already arrived in Stanley which is the biggest city in the Falklands. We stopped to pick up provisions. The island has a large area of greenhouse produce that it sells to visiting ships. We looked out at the lights on land and a number of fishing boats in the channel. Stanley will not allow us to visit due to COVID restrictions. But we were able to have palettes of fresh vegetables transferred to the ship.

The night ended with an after dinner presentation about equipment and diving in Arctic waters. It was a fascinating show and tell. They wear long underwear under their dry suits. The gloves are an integral part of the suit. Only small parts of the face are exposed to the cold. Brrrr. Their scuba tanks have 2 regulators in case one freezes.
Not for me…