Jan. 18 Antarctica Day 3

 Sunrise 3:47

0C winds 20 knots overcast snow in the air

We cruised at a good speed overnight. We turned south into the Antarctic Sound towards Hope Bay around 7 am. The sound is known for the Adélie penguin and tabular icebergs. We had to slow our speed down to 12 knots in order to maneuver around the icebergs, growlers and brash ice. 


The weather gods have been with us for the most part. If it is overcast, they send us whales and penguins to entertain us. As we headed into Hope Bay we were surrounded by rafts of penguins porpoising through the water. There were so many of them that it sounding like it was raining when they hit the water. 

Then we saw the whales. It must have been a pod of whales as they were all around the ship. You could hear them blowing and see them arching again and again until they flipped their tails and did a deep dive. 


The whales create bubble circles when they are feeding. Once they have moved on, the penguins move in and go into a frenzy of eating. 

Hope Bay is home to the largest colony of Adelie penguins in Antarctica, estimated at over 100,000 mating pairs. The rookery spread out on the rocks surrounding Esperanza Station, the Argentinian research station. We watched hundreds of penguins marching single file to the water’s edge and wade into the one by one. Sometimes they lined up at the shore and went into one mass. It is so amusing to see them waddling single file up and down the mountain to the rookeries.


The captain wanted to take us to the Weddell Sea where Shackleton and his crew got frozen into the ice and had to stay there for the winter. We got to within 4 nautical miles but the main channel was a minefield of icebergs so he went to plan B which was doing some scenic cruising around Jonassen Island. The sun was shining and the scenery was stunning with so many tabular icebergs. 




The sheer number and size of the tabular icebergs in this area is staggering. Everywhere you look you can see dozens of them glistening pure white in the sun.

There is a change of itinerary for tomorrow due to the need for immediate medical evacuation of 2 guests. We will head to King George Island in the South Shetland Islands to connect with an air ambulance that will take them to Chile. It will be determined tomorrow morning whether we will get to Elephant Island or do scenic cruising in Admiralty Bay.

Sunset 10:14 pm


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