Drake Passage, 2/16/2022, National Geographic Explorer
Aboard the
National Geographic Explorer
Antarctica
After leaving Elephant Island yesterday, we sailed all night and day in the Drake Passage. As we traveled back to South America, we spent time reflecting on our amazing days in Antarctica. We thought back on the incredible scenery, whales galore, comical penguins and so much more.
The Drake was not quite the lake we had sailing south. We still spent time looking for seabirds, but most of us pondered our incredible journey.
Mike learned early on that the best way to escape Ohio was to become a marine biologist. During college at Wittenberg University he attended a semester at Duke University's Marine Lab — that time only confirmed his love for all things oceanic and ma...
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The sun came out by 07:00 this morning and stayed with us all the way into Ushuaia. In the morning, we had two presentations. One covered the South Pole, and the other was on the early Antarctic explorers. After lunch, we had a wonderful display by sei whales in the Beagle Channel. Shortly after, our two divers demonstrated the underwater ROV and the cold-water dive equipment. In the evening, we attended the Captain’s Farewell in the Ice Lounge and auctioned the trip flag. The Beagle Channel was named for the HMS Beagle . The channel is south of the Strait of Magellan, and it is the last cut off for ships rounding South America to avoid the Drake Passage. It was named during the first voyage of the HMS Beagle around 1827. It was on the second voyage of the HMS Beagle that a naturalist named Charles Darwin was brought along. Darwin and the HMS Beagle spent months in the channel. In addition to his observations in the Galapagos, many of Darwin’s observations in this area led to his Theory of Evolution. The HMS Beagle was sent with 22 chronometers to fine tune the latitude of critical points around the world. Captain Robert Fitzroy was not funded by the British Navy to have a naturalist aboard, but he hired Darwin with his own money because he felt it was important. That decision was critical in how we now look at the natural world around us.
Our trip is almost finished, and today we had our last full day crossing the mighty Drake Passage. Our guests have enjoyed various lectures. Thanks to our naturalists, today we learned about “Cetaceans in Antarctica,” “Diving in Sea Mammals,” and “Seabird Poo.” Our National Geographic expert gave us a compelling and inspiring talk about “Sustainable Tourism,” and, finally, we collected images for the Guest Slideshow, which was presented after dinner. The guests loved the slideshow, and we enjoyed a fantastic reception and lots of curiosity from people into photography. It was rewarding to see such amazing images captured with iPhones and basic cameras. Some of those photos were taken by people who are not trained photographers. Everyone took advantage of our talks on photography while on this trip, and we think they may have a new hobby now!
Today was quite busy with many interesting presentations. In the morning, geologist Serguei Ponomarenko spoke about the geological history of Antarctica. Before glaciation wiped out thousands of species of the animals and plants that used to be here, Antarctica was once connected to Australia, and much earlier, it was connected to Africa, Madagascar, India, and South America. Later, Gerard Baker spoke about conservation efforts in the Southern Ocean. After lunch, National Geographic photographer Michaela Skovranova instructed guests on live editing of photographs, an essential skill after a memorable trip. The last activity before dinner was an Antarctica quiz. In the late afternoon, National Geographic Explorer entered the Beagle Channel. Almost immediately, the wind subsided, and the sky cleared. Guests enjoyed the spectacular scenery on the Chilean and Argentinian sides of the channel. After dinner, the ship docked in Ushuaia, and guests had an opportunity to spend a few late evening hours in this most southern town in the world.
