It was a low visibility morning as we sailed down the Bransfield Strait. The strait runs between the South Shetland Archipelago and the Antarctic Peninsula. More and more icebergs. We’re in Antarctic Waters now!
Ruth gave a fun lecture on the ‘Mis-Adventures of a Wild-life film Maker’. She’s worked on documentaries for the BBC Planet Earth team, PBS, National Geographic and Discovery. She has had a number of mishaps along the way which she was happy to share. Hilarious. She said more than once she is surprised she keeps getting gigs.
Late morning, things got a little sunnier. And, we actually saw another small cruise ship in the distance – 1st ship we’ve seen on the cruise. After lunch arrived at Island and Brabant Islands. After much discussion the Expedition Team decides conditions are favorable for a zodiac cruise. It feels great to get off the boat, for 2 hours we cruise in the bay and see seals, a leopard seal on the ice, calving glaciers, dense ice packs – the scenery is awesome.
After a short sail, we anchored in the sheltered Fournier Bay. Hannah L. has been closely monitoring conditions and gives the word – ‘Polar Plunge is on!’. The plunge is scheduled once for each trip and the Expedition Leader picks the time and place when/if conditions permit. Conditions are perfect with an air temperature of 1C and water at 0C (that’s 32F).
Dick is a ‘go’ – ‘what the heck’ he says. And, his zodiac bud, Ralph, is also in on the fun. (They are now known as ‘Steelman 1’ and ‘Steelman 2’). Each participant is tethered up to a harness and jumps or dives into the water from one of the zodiacs. Yee-doggies!
Penguin count: 100
Total trip penguin count: 635,750