Today we continued our course from South Georgia to Tristan da Cunha. We are passing through the Roaring Forties, the band of westerly winds that always blows at these latitudes. We are currently at 45° south latitude, headed north toward the South Atlantic subtropical high. The barometer is rising above 1010 millibars now, and the weather is beautiful. Wandering albatrosses continue to lead us north as they soar just below the level of the bridge of National Geographic Explorer. Other oceanic birds, including light-mantled sooty albatrosses, follow the ship to take advantage of any food stirred up by our propellers as we sail along.

We are using our time at sea well with presentations on the history of the discovery of Antarctica and the life history of toothed whales. We are participating in workshops on photographing flying birds and in creative writing by our National Geographic writer Andrew Evans.