After a windy afternoon and evening yesterday, we continued the search for calm seas. Our morning navigation along the eastern coast of Brabant Island yielded some calm patches from which to observe the gorgeous glaciers all around us. In Kayak Bay, we thought we might have found conditions that would allow for an off-the-ship activity, but the gusts were simply too strong. We settled for a morning of exploration by ship. We passed several humpback whales, many gorgeous icebergs, and enjoyed the sunshine as it lit up the mountainsides all around us.
We crossed the Gerlache Strait towards Wilhemina Bay and looped back to Foyn Harbour and Enterprise Island. From there, we pulled into the site of the shipwreck Gobernoren, a floating factory ship that was used for processing whale oil until it caught fire in 1915 with 22,000 gallons of oil on board. The ship sank, but all 85 men on board survived and were rescued by other ships in the area. Our afternoon at sea involved a trivia game, tea time, and a presentation by our guest speaker Peter Hillary.
From the western side of the peninsula, we will make our way northeast until we reach the tip and round the corner, through Antarctic Strait, into the Weddell Sea. We look forward to what tomorrow will bring.
