At Sea on the way to Antarctica

Woke up around 12:30am to the first roll of the ship. (At breakfast I found that it seems a lot of people woke up around the same time.) Around 7:30 dad went up on deck to check things out and came back very quickly because all there is is water! Lots and lots of water 360 degrees around us. I’ve never been this far from shore! So we went to breakfast at 8, stumbling around like a bunch of drunks due to the roll of the ship. Seems everyone still feels well which is good.



Dutch (our expedition leader) says that on a scale of 1-5, the chop/roll level is at about 1.5! In other words, we ain’t seen nothin’ yet! Spent a bit of time up on the observation deck chatting and looking for whales.



Then a bit of a chill-out in the cabin then off to Blubber Fest; a lecture by Lynn on the seals and whales that we’re likely to see. (I took notes, they’re available upon request!)

Next to a lecture on “Why Antarctica?” about research in Antarctica. Semi interesting material in the dark presentation room by a monotone lecturer, so I must admit I dozed off a bit. Then to lunch, download some pictures, relax a bit then off to the kayak adventure briefing. The guides seem really cool and they hook you up with all the gear you need. The problem is that you can sign up to kayak, but it's likely that not everyone will get to go. Too many people who will want to, but not enough stops. So it’s a lottery thing. They offer recreational and racing. I prefer rec (as did most people) so we’ll see. Either way, I don't think I'll be disappointed.

After that, we grabbed the satellite phone and called mom. Great connection, great conversation, a bit of a look around the front desk. No whales but a few birds we wanted to identify. In for tea, then a great lecture on the history of the marathon- (few notes which are also available upon request.) Bill and Jane of Marathon Tours are fun and humorous people. I’m really glad we got on their boat, and not the other. They went over the past marathon history, and give us a quick tour of this years course. After class we read and relaxed in the cabin for a few, then off to happy hour around 6:45. Met Karin and Anders and Eva in the lounge and enjoyed a beer and some chips, then dinner. The food on this boat has been quite good so far and very plentiful! Interesting soups before every meal (lentil, pumpkin, creamy mustard!) I’m certainly not going to lose any weight on this trip! A few people have been sick but it seems that everyone is holding up well. The Drake Passage has been kind to us. It’s been a nice mellow day. After dinner, there was a 40 min film on birds and whales. Then I took a quick jaunt onto the deck to say goodnight to the sea, then off to bed. The word from the Vavilov (the other ship) is that all is well there and the marathon tours crew should have the course all set by now. If all goes well, the race will be day after tomorrow. More lectures tomorrow and race brief and “packet pickup” tomorrow night.

We should arrive in Antarctica tomorrow around 5pm or so….weather permitting. I took my first shower since we got on the boat in our tiny bathroom that we share with the 2 guys in the room next door. It’s weird to have to hold on amidst the rocking and try to quickly get clean at the same time without knocking the handle with my butt and subjecting myself freezing cold, or steaming hot water! Aside from a few temperature bumps, I did it. Good night.