Day 29

Antarctica, Day 3

We continued south this morning toward the Lemaire Channel below overcast skies and a brisk breeze.  When exposed to the wind, you must be completely covered or you will feel frozen in seconds.  On the lee side of the ship, it is still cold, but more tolerable. 

The Lemaire channel, near Renard Island was blocked with ice so we slowed and came to a stop.  Capt Mercer announced that they were going to put a tender in the water with photographers to take some pictures of the ship in this beautiful scenery. 

Humpback whales are constant companions and there have been numerous sightings all morning.  You can usually hear them as they blow air near the surface and glide along before taking a dive and exposing their distinctive tales. 

We have made extensive use of our Verandah deck while in Antarctica.  We have spent most of the day in our cabin, staying warm and listening to the commentary on Channel 41.  When a sighting is announced for our side of the ship, we step onto our small deck to spot a whale or take a picture.  Occasionally we will head aft, toward the Deck 6 rear Promenade, to look at sightings on the other side of the ship. 

We have not been in the Crows Nest much during the day, but based on the note in the Where and When about “no saving seats” beyond ten minutes there must have been some issues with seat savers. 

We reached the southernmost point of the cruise mid morning before heading back north toward Charlotte Bay, where we would begin cruising around 4 PM. 

For the most part, the scenery here has been similar, cold gray skies, with growlers and small icebergs everywhere, and mountains lining the channels as we sail up and down.  At the lecture on ice bergs we learned that ice that reaches less than one meter above the water is classified as a Growler. Bergy Bits are one to five meters above the water and Ice Bergs are over five meters high. Only 10% to 15% of the ice is above the water line.

Charlotte Bay had more humpback whales which would occasionally dive and show their tail which is always a thrill.   

The icebergs here take years to melt since it is so cold year round and they retain their shapes for a while.  There is one berg that has the look of a cruise ship and is almost a landmark since it has been here in Charlotte Bay for a while. 

Around 6 PM we headed north, clearing Charlotte Bay and that concluded our commentary until 7 AM tomorrow when we will arrive at the northmost point of the Antarctica Peninsula near Hope Bay. 

It started to snow as we left Charlotte Bay and visibility dropped dramatically. 

The ship ordered Helly Hansen Jackets with the 2020 World Cruise Logo, but they didn’t arrive in Buenos Aires as scheduled.  The jackets will get here after the cold weather ports.  It will be interesting to see if very many are sold.  The jackets are expected to cost around $220 USD. 

The Runaround Kids put on another great show on the Mainstage this evening.  During a few songs, some passengers were dancing in the isles.