Cruising the Bay. We enter a channel that appears to be a dead end but as we approach the end we can see the dog leg turn. It is -4° Celsius (25 F), cloudy, windy and spitting snow. There are mountains on both sides although the tops are obscured by clouds. We spent time on the bridge where we learned that the new software and technology aids in the charting of passages and finding new routes. This data is shared by this ship as well as by many other vessels for more accurate maps.
This is not just a pleasure cruise but also a science expedition. Many research organizations use information collected by the people on this ship, information that could cost the organization lots of money if done on their own. But with our help in taking pictures of flukes, gathering water samples, counting birds or taking pictures of clouds, we are helping science in these cold climes.
They had planned to stop at one of two research stations near Paradise Bay but the weather would not allow it so we just cruised this protected bay while learning about Ernie Shackleton and whales. In 1914, Ernie Shackleton led a crew of 28 men to Antarctica with plans to pull sleds to the South Pole while a second crew approached it from the other side, laying stores of supplies along the way for Shackleton’s group. Unfortunately ice grabbed hold of Ernie’s ship, preventing it from even touching land and after destroying the ship stranding them on Elephant Island. They turned over two life boats as shelter for 22 men while Shackleton and 5 other men took the remaining life boat to find whaling ships to rescue them. Two and a half years later, Shackleton did rescue the 22 men he left behind and the crew of the other ship with no loss of life.
The talk about whales was brought on by our sighting of the Type B Orcas we followed yesterday. These are smaller whales than the norther Orcas. They eat fish and squid, and they use echo location to find their food.
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