eGlobal Education

First Day at Sea 

Last night, as soon as we left the Beagle Channel, the Atlantic treated us to much bigger swells, rocking the boat noticeably more.  Today, the swells increased all day, so I am grateful for my seasickness patch, which has kept me from feeling seasick amidst considerable rolling and pitching.  Don, who survived his Navy days, is duded up in his coat and tie for the Captain’s Dinner—and flat on his back wishing he were anywhere but on a ship.  I’ve plied him with Dramamine, which we hope will be easing his stomach soon. 

We awoke to a gorgeous blue sky, with a chilling wind.  It is light this far south from about 4 a.m. to 10 p.m.  This morning’s lecture was on seabirds of the Antarctic region—petrels, albatrosses, penguins and more.  We were fascinated to learn that these birds spend most of their lives on the open water, going to land only to breed and raise their young.   

Giant Albatross in flight

The albatrosses typically don’t reproduce until they are 16 years old and even then lay only 1 egg, so their reproduction is tenuous.  Consequently, they often live to be 60 years old or more, so they can reproduce for many years.  The much smaller petrels, on the other hand, live only a few years, and usually hatch 8 chicks per year. 

Sea birds rest on the water, but they spend most of their time swooping down to the water, where they either grab some surface fish or squid or turn into the wind to get the lift they need to rise high again.  The giant albatross’ wing span is 8 to 10 feet, with very stiff feathers along the front sides of their wings, which improves their aerodynamics.  

Petrel following the Silver Explorer

Tomorrow we will visit 2 remote landings on West Falkland Island, to see the nesting colonies of the Black Browed Albatrosses, a huge and gorgeous bird with distinctive white and black markings and black feathers above their eyes (the black brows).  There will be thousands of nests to see in the deeply tufted grasses.  We will also see Magellanic Penguins, who bury their nests in in the rocks and sand.  All our landings are by zodiacs and mostly “wet”, so landing in the surf.  Hence our high-topped rubber boots. 

This business of the cruise ship is quite interesting.  Silverseas owns the ship, but it is operated by contract crews hired from a contractor who provides crews to cruise ships all over the world.  The expedition staff, who plan and lead all our shore visits and drive the zodiacs, are also contract personnel, some working for the contractor and some free lancing.  There are 120 crew members and 119 passengers on this ship, so we are well-cared for, well-fed, and increasingly well-educated about this part of the world.