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Drake Passage - Friday, January 7, 2005
Long: 59° 12,6 S
Lat: 63°21,5 W
Temp: 3,5 C°
Water Temp: 3 C°
Wind: 30 Knts
Wind Direction: NW
Photo ci contre : Black-browed Abatross (by Ken Wright)
We were blessed with an unusually calm Drake Passage this morning as we sailed back to South America. There were several southern giant petrels and a wandering albatross to escort us along the way. Ian began the day's lecture series with tales of a ship named Aurora and the men, such as Douglas Mawson, Frank Wild, and Ernest Joyce, who worked on her. Ken followed suit with a lecture about the surprisingly diverse flora of the Antarctic that consists of mosses and lichens. After lunch, the weather freshened and the ship began to pitch a little. The sunny skies continued but the wind increased noticeably. Colin gave his presentation on orcas, kings of the ocean. Growing to a maximum of 9.5 metres, orcas are actually the largest member of the dolphin family. Orcas are also at the very top of the Antarctic food chain. They are cooperative and opportunistic predators that feed on seals and other whales as well as fishes, penguins, and squid. They travel and hunt in highly social family pods of up to fifty individuals. Studies have shown there to be distinct Antarctic orcas with the pods specializing as either fellow mammal or fish hunters. Later we saw the remarkably charming film Around Cape Horn. Irving Johnson tool a movie camera on a fully loaded square-rigger around the cape in 1929 as a young man and narrated the story years later. As this was the last days of cargo under sail, no other footage like this exists.
Programme de la Journée - planning of the day 
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Recit précédent -
Recit suivant
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Long: 59° 12,6 S