Across the Southern Ocean to Campbell Island

Friday, 6 February 2015
Southern Ocean — off Campbell Island
Current Position: 52°55’ S / 169°19’ E
Temps: 41F (5C) @ 7:30a (UTC +12)
Distance Since Ushuaia: 5,733 NM (6,597 miles / 10,617 km)

Those of you who think you know everything are annoying to those of us who do.
Mark Twain [Questionable Attribution]

After a night of rockin’ and rollin’, we woke up to more of the same this morning.

Even as I write this, the winds continue to rage in the 50-knot (58 mph/93 kph) range, and the ship’s motion on the ocean is quite lively.  It’s been like this for much of the day.  When he returned from a quick trip to deck 3 aft this morning, Mui described the waves as being “mountainous.”  An apt description that I confirmed later when I went out and saw the action for myself.

The good news is that we continue to have following seas from the southwest, and Mui and I are both still doing OK without resorting to using patches to combat seasickness.  How much longer can we hold out?  Mother Nature holds the key to that question.

Expedition Day 29 sees us arriving at Campbell Island — but that doesn’t mean we get to land.

Seabirds were all around us as the winds blew strong throughout the day, but they stayed at a fair distance.  By lunch the winds were starting to moderate, but the sea state continued to be in the 10-13 feet (3-4 m) range, perhaps getting up to 16 feet (5 m) at times.  Later in the day, as we closed the distance to Campbell Island, the seas even went up to 25 to 32 feet (8-10 m), but not for long … luckily.

The Campbell Island Mollymawk is an albatross endemic to the island for which it is named.

Campbell Island Mollymawks and Cape Petrels

Northern Giant Petrel

Campbell Island Mollymawks — the closest yet and I can see the light-colored eyes.

Northern Giant Petrel

Wandering Albatross

As is typical of a sea day routine, we alternated our time on the outer decks — where we spent our time in the lee of the wind — with lectures.  In the morning, Don regaled us with the story of the 26-mile (42 km) crossing he did in South Georgia, following in Shackleton’s footsteps from Fortuna Bay to Stromness Bay.  Admittedly Don and his crew had it easier with modern contrivances, but it was by no means a cake walk and Don described it as “the most inhospitable place I have ever been to.”

Date Milestones of Shackleton’s Endurance Expedition.

It’s over these mountains that Don and his group had to cross to get to the
ruins of the Stromness Whaling Station where Shackleton ended his crossing.
[historic photo taken by Frank Hurley; looking at the terrain Shackleton crossed.]

The afternoon lecture was a fanciful one about mermaids and mermen.  Do they really exist?  Who knows, but seeing how the kelp floating on the surface of the Southern Ocean is blown about by the heavy winds, I can see how someone who has been at sea for months on end might perhaps start seeing “mermaids!”

Mermaids in art and poetry.

Really!  I don’t see the resemblance myself :-)

Campbell Island came into view in the early evening — a misty outline holding out hope for activities to come in the days ahead.  Because we got out of the ice faster than anticipated, we’re actually a day ahead of schedule here.  Our permit is for February 8.  If the Spirit of Enderby departs early following the activities they have scheduled, we might be able to get into Perseverance Harbour before then.  Otherwise, we’ll be playing around the outside of the island until our turn comes — weather permitting, of course.

Campbell Island on the horizon.

The winds seem to be easing a bit.  We even had a hint of sunshine before darkness fell around the ship.  Both of those are good omens for tomorrow — providing Mother Nature sees fit to give us a calm day.

Clouds being whipped about into interesting forms by high-level winds.

The ship is “going dark” tonight, and we’ve all been cautioned to keep the shades down in our cabins and the curtains drawn so that albatross, attracted by the lights, don’t land onto or crash into the ship.  In the case of the former, they would be unable to take off without human intervention; in the case of the latter, the birds could seriously hurt themselves.  We will follow the guidance of course.

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