Early risers were treated to a lovely sunrise at 5:30 a.m. over the Drake Passage. The clear eastern horizon enabled the sun to paint the underside of low clouds off to the west in various shades of orange and pink. The gentle motion of the National Geographic Explorer that we enjoyed through the night began to change as we made our approach to the storied Cape Horn. Boisterous seas driven by steady 35 knot winds from the west slapped benignly at our bow until our captain turned the ship eastward toward the Beagle Channel. Our turn, several miles from the cape, offered an excellent opportunity to see and photograph this legendary point of land. Those of us who lingered on deck were rewarded with two small groups of bow-riding Peale’s dolphins that enjoyed being pushed along by the ship’s pressure wave.
At 11:00 Susan Solomon presented a very interesting talk on the way the Earth’s changing climate is affecting Antarctica, and at 1:30 Lisa Kelley regaled us with tales of her time spent as overwintering manager of the U.S. base, Palmer Station.
By the time we entered the Beagle Channel the sky had cleared and the wind had died completely. With a glassy sea surface ahead of us, three sei whales appeared and afforded us perfect chances for viewing and photographing these huge graceful animals. Next under the warm sun of an idyllic austral summer afternoon our galley crew barbecued sausages as an extra teatime treat around four o’clock on the aft deck.
At 6:45 p.m. our captain began his rousing farewell speech to the guests a fitting end to a marvelous voyage to the Antarctic Peninsula. By dinner’s end our ship had returned to our port of origin, Ushuaia.
