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Wandering Albatross and Iceberg, Scotia Sea

Antarctica: Scotia Sea to South Georgia
February 2024

Black-browed Albatross Scotia Sea

 

At times a rough crossing of the Scotia Sea with a 6.5m swell; lots of seabirds including several species of albatrosses and the first icebergs of our trip.

Ocena Adventurer
Our ship, Ocean Adventurer, ready for departure.

 

We boarded our ship, the Quark Ocean Adventurer, with great anticipation. There was a lovely reception on board with drinks and food as people were shown to their cabins. Ours was on the same level as the lounge and dining room, very spacious with twin beds, a shower room and plenty of storage.

We unpacked (I brought far too many socks!) and then there was a lengthy briefing and introduction to the crew followed by a life jacket and lifeboat drill.

Departing Ushuaia
Departing Ushuaia.

Around 6pm we departed Ushuaia to sail down the Beagle Channel.

Beagle Channel
Beagle Channel
Beagle Channel
Black-browed albatross Beagle Channel
Black-browed Albatross
Beagle Channel
Sailing down the Beagle Channel just out of Ushuaia.

That first evening dinner was a buffet with a huge selection of salads and hot food.

Beagle Channel
Beagle Channel
Beagle Channel

Out on deck I began practicing with my new camera. We saw Black-Browed Albatross, Southern Giant Petrels, and a Sei whale (too far for a decent shot), the third largest after Blue and Fin whales. We also saw Magellanic penguins on shore but, again, too far for a decent photograph.

The channel was calm as we made our way to the Scotia Sea.

The following morning was a different story. Overnight a swell had got up and the ship was rolling quite a bit. Fine to begin with but then we both started to feel a bit queasy and took anti-seasickness tablets. Neither of us have ever been seasick before, and we have travelled on ships in quite rough seas.

On days at sea - it would take four days to reach South Georgia - crew members gave presentations. This morning it was ornithologist Santiago talking about the birdlife. Remarkably it seems that smell helps the birds to locate food sources. Dimethyl sulphide is emitted by phytoplankton when eaten by krill, which the seabirds eat.

Black-browed albatross Scotia Sea
Black-browed Albatross
Southern Giant Petrel Scotia Sea
Southern Giant Petrel

Then we went on deck to see what we could see: Northern and Southern Royal Albatrosses, Northern and Southern Giant Petrels..

Royal Albatross Scotia Sea
Royal Albatross (not sure which).
Royal Albatross Scotia Sea
Royal Albatross (not sure which).
Southern Royal Albatross Black-browed Albatross Scotia Sea
Northern Royal Albatross on the left and a Black-browed Albatross.
Southern Giant Petrel Scotia Sea
Southern Giant Petrel
Southern Giant Petrels Scotia Sea
Northern (above) and Southern Giant Petrels.

I was particularly thrilled to see the albatrosses, such magnificent birds, particularly the Northern Royal which has an immense wingspan.

Black-browed Albatross Scotia Sea
Black-browed Albatross
Black-browed Albatross Scotia Sea
Black-browed Albatross Scotia Sea
Black-browed Albatross Scotia Sea
Black-browed Albatross Scotia Sea
Lunchtime special: sushi and sashimi
Lunchtime special: sushi and sashimi.

Food on board was excellent. Every lunch there was an extensive hot and cold buffet including soup and salads, and at dinner an à la carte menu. At breakfast one crew member was on hand to make fresh toast while another was at an omelette station with a wide range of ingredients, plus any kind of eggs could be ordered freshly made. At lunch there were freshly made and beautifully presented specials such as sushi or tacos and once an excellent pork adobo. One day there was even a barbecue on deck! Afternoon tea was served every day too, with plenty of sweet cakes on offer.

Lunchtime special: traditional Philipine dish pork adobo
Lunchtime special: traditional Filipino dish Pork Adobo - really excellent. So good I asked for the recipe and the chef very kindly wrote it out for me.

After lunch there was a presentation about the Zodiacs that we would be using for all our excursions, then a mandatory Biosecurity inspection. In order to protect the Antarctic environment as much as possible from any contamination, all our outer gear, bags and anything we would be taking on shore was inspected to ensure they were as clean as possible, particularly boot soles had to be rid of any soil or grit caught in the treads. Prior to the voyage we had provided information to Quark on our sizes for jackets and wellington boots which were already installed in our cabins on arrival.


Video: High seas.

After the Captain's Cocktail Party in the evening there was a talk by the expedition leader, David Burton, always known as Bertie, a nicer chap you couldn't meet. As a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, with a Master's Degrees from Cambridge University's Scott Polar Research Institute, huge experience in both polar regions and, until recently a Government Officer on the South Georgia and Sandwich Islands, he is supremely qualified to lead our expedition.

That day the swell was 2 metres, but it was set to get worse overnight.


Video: High seas - at dinner!

When we woke the next morning the swell was much deeper - 3.5m. It was rough enough that I washed rather than take a shower - rather difficult when the ship is rolling side to side! The wind was up to 38 knots, this is officially gale force. The swell increased to 6.5m.

Dany, the marine biologist gave a very interesting talk on marine mammals. I didn't know that baleen whales had two blowholes and toothed whales only one. Keith the photographer also gave a good presentation on manual settings on the camera and how to use them to take wildlife, particularly birds in flight, which was very useful.

icebergs
First iceberg - spotted by me!

By lunch the swell was very high and looked very dramatic through the restaurant windows! An engineer came into our cabin to tighten the porthole so it was obviously quite serious weather. All the aft decks were closed because of the conditions.

In the afternoon we watched Part One of Branagh's "Shackleton" - very good and highly appropriate.

The following day, still making for South Georgia, it was a little calmer but fore and aft decks were still closed. We learned a lot from the presentations, today Sofia on the earth's geology in general and particularly the area we were in, Bertie on the fishing restrictions around South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula which he had to police as the Government Representative in South Georgia. Only two types of fish are caught: toothfish and krill. Dany also gave another interesting talk on how mammals breathe in Antarctica, storing oxygen efficiently in muscle mass.

first iceberg
Wandering Albatross
A magnificent bird. It is the largest of the albatrosses with a wingspan up to 3 metres.1 From the few black markings on the tail feathers I think this one is almost a mature adult.

In the afternoon there was an announcement that three passengers had tested positive for Covid and were isolating in their cabins, neither of us had any symptoms.

Next morning I spotted an iceberg on the starboard side. There was a competition to guess the time the first iceberg would be spotted so I reported it - it was 7:50 am and the competition didn't close until 9:00 a. - no-one expected to spot an iceberg this early!

icebergs

Ian, the historian, gave a very good talk on Shackleton and I spent a lot of time on deck looking for wildlife and experimenting with different camera settings. I saw plenty of Antarctic Fur Seals but they're too fast for me to get a decent photograph.

iceberg
Wandering Albatross
Northern Giant Petrel
Northern Giant Petrel
iceberg
Antarctic Fur Seals
Antarctic Fur Seals
Wandering Albatross
Young Wandering Albatross.
Antarctic Prion
Antarctic Prion
iceberg
Almost adult Wandering Albatross.
Wandering Albatross
Young Wandering Albatross.

There were a lot of Wandering Albatrosses here, of all ages, so wonderful to see.

We saw Wilson's Storm Petrels too, beautiful black and white birds, but they are quite small and difficult to photograph from the ship.

Wandering Albatross
Young Wandering Albatross.
Wandering Albatross
Young Wandering Albatross.

We had reached South Georgia, four days after leaving Ushuaia.

Wandering Albatross
Antarctic Fur Seals and an Antarctic Prion.

 

References

  1. British Antarctic Survey: Albatross