Antarctica 2010 – Day 6

We continue our voyage across the Drake Passage towards the peninsula. Last night about 1 am we crossed the Antarctic Convergence which can be described as the area where the South Atlantic turns to the Southern Ocean. This is an area of the ocean that is ever moving but lies roughly between 50 and 60 degrees south.

The most noticeable difference now is that the water turns colder and there is an increase in sea bird activity with Southern Ocean and Antarctic sea birds converging in this area.

We are starting to see more Albatros now including Black Browed and Wandering Albatros and Petrels which come to check out the ship. We even had some Chinstrap penguins in the distance this morning.

Throughout the day there have been some additional presentations as well as safety briefings for the zodiac landings and kayaking trips that will begin tomorrow.

There is a palpable sense of excitement now as we near Antarctica and the realisation of where we are and what we are about to see starts to sink in.

At about 4.30pm we spotted our first land since leaving Ushuaia. Smith Island which is part of the South Shetlands lies off our port side about 40 kms away. We are continuing our way south heading towards Cuverville Island for the first landing tomorrow. We will land at Neko Bay tomorrow afternoon which will be our first landing on the continent of Antarctica.

We’ve just had our first whales also with blows seen in the distance. They’re also heading south towards the feeding grounds around the peninsula.

Antarctica is starting to show why it is so special.