Bing-bong. It's 8am. 'Good morning everybody. As you can see it's a little bit rough outside so we advise you not to try and take a shower... breakfast is now being served. Have a grrreat day'. Our expedition leader is originally from Scotland and I quickly become accustomed to waking up to his thoughts for the day, and of course the 'Have a great day' bit at the end. By the end of trip I find I am looking forward to hearing his dulcet tones first thing in the morning.
There's a poor show for breakfast; only a handful of people. The boat is rolling so much, three chairs break (while people are seated). I manage a small bowl of cereal to help wash down more sea-sickness tablets, go back to bed and sleep until lunchtime. I miss the first lecture on Antarctic birds as I'm almost comatosed from the pills but manage to drag myself out of bed in the afternoon for 'Ice is Nice' by the resident geologist/glaciologist and Southern Whales by the marine biologist. A bunch of sick bags line the corridors so I assume this is normal for the Drake Passage.
Very few people make it to lunch. At this point we're in Force 9 which I am told is classified as 'strong gale' with 20-25ft waves and 45 knot winds. The sea is white. At lunch while I'm holding on to my plate, a huge wave slaps the dining room window and leaves everyone speechless for a few seconds. A few days later I hear many people were confined to their cabins for the duration of the Drake passage and the crew ended up running down the corridors carrying dry biscuits and water. An Irish lady who was obviously suffering was overheard saying 'Jesus take me now'.
The P.A bing-bongs and the bridge announces there are Humpback Whales portside at 10 o´clock. By the time I have worked out where this is in relation to which way we're travelling, they are specks in the distance.
By dinner we're in the middle of the Drake Passage. The sea has calmed and we´re once again allowed out on deck. But there's nothing to see, just endless sea and rainy skies.
(Photo - Humpback Whale taken the next day)
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