The waves broke in lacy white fringes yet our ship’s stabilizers made the ride smooth and comfortable. A storm is brewing in the Drake so our expedition leader and captain wisely changed course and headed us toward Elephant Island. This is the site of the remarkable survival of Shackleton’s stranded men who courageously awaited the possible return of their leader and only hope, Earnest Shackleton. They were rescued and we will visit that site tomorrow.
Today was filled with seabirds and camera readiness. We heard a lecture on seabird identification and then went to the sun deck to try out our newly-learned bird identification skills. Wandering albatross glided in the wind. We aimed and missed our shots. Then we aimed again and some of the lucky ones captured the dynamic soaring of these immense birds as they twirled gracefully among the whitecaps. We watched the darker giant petrels sway in the wind, also looking for food in the turbulent waters aft of our ship.
Luckily the photo team on board understood our struggles with capturing the birds in flight. David Cothran, our photo instructor, gave a presentation on mastering our various devises. We then broke up into smaller groups, each with an individual instructor who helped us at our own level to take better pictures for the wondrous days ahead.
This evening we were welcomed aboard by Captain Oliver Kruess and met the”behind the scenes” crew who make this trip possible.
Then Bud, our expedition leader, gave us the plan for tomorrow. With full tummies and full expectations we headed for bed beneath the southern skies. Our dreams of the white continent swirled in our heads like the wandering albatross gliding over the waves around us.
