BT – The Drake Passage

The Drake Passage is the 800km wide body of water between Cape Horn and the Antarctic Peninsula. It has a bit of a reputation for being unkind to the feeble of stomach. I had a seasickness patch, which helped a bit, though not quite as much as I hoped. Fortunately the two-day trip was, in fact, relatively smooth. We heard a couple of horror stories about how bad it can be, including being a four-day trip instead — gulp.

We weren’t the only ship leaving Ushuaia on the evening of the 17th, following a similar-sized ship from another tour company out into the Beagle Channel.

Later in the evening we farewelled the pilot, who has to take the ship out through these relatively tricky waters, and left his small boat to head back into the sunset while we started our journey south.

The MV Plancius carries about 110 passengers and 50 or so crew, hospitality, and expedition staff. My sister and I had a twin cabin on Deck 4, with ensuite, and it was warm and comfortable.

During the two-day crossing we were introduced to the expedition personnel and had explanations about the activities that we would be undertaking. We also met our fellow passengers — of a range of ages and nationalities — and came to understand that the food on board was going to be very good.

With the crossing relatively calm (and me feeling not too bad most of the time) it was possible to get out on deck and check out the wildlife, already present in surprisingly abundant quantities. There was a flock of Cape Petrels following us for some of our journey, with their distinctive black and white plumage. We also saw our first penguins launching out of the water (but they were much harder to photograph, as you could never predict when they were going to emerge).

As evening fell on the 19th we sighted land: ice-covered islands with rocky outcrops were telling us that we’d arrived in Antarctic waters. We knew that in the morning we’d be making our first shore visits … and, for my sister and me, the afternoon had a kayaking trip planned. Despite the forewarning, it was difficult to imagine how much more things would change as we continued southward overnight.