The Scotia Sea
Today we are truly on our way. We have begun our “good old fashioned sea voyage” in earnest. We have sailed east from the Falkland Islands and into the Scotia Sea on our way to South Georgia. Throughout the entire day we have been sliding south into the “furious fifties,” the great westerly winds which blow, unimpeded by land, all the way around the Earth at these latitudes. We have following winds and sea, so our passage is a comfortable one as we gain our sea legs and explore the comforts of our home on Endeavour.
As we sail into the great Southern Ocean we are escorted, hour after hour, by the great soaring birds of these latitudes. Robert Cushman Murphy wrote, “I now belong to a higher cult of mortals, for I have seen the albatross! “Today we all share the feeling, for not only have we seen the albatross, including the snowy albatross pictured, but giant petrels, prions, pintado petrels, soft–plumaged petrels and storm petrels. These magnificent birds spend almost their entire lives at sea, soaring on the strong and dependable winds of the Southern Ocean, sometimes circumnavigating the globe many times over in their lifetimes.
Already we can feel the chill in the air as we approach the Antarctic Convergence, the boundary between the Atlantic and the great Southern Ocean with its highly productive waters. In addition to the birds we have seen at least one fin whale and expect more of both birds and marine mammals as the temperature drops and the food supply rises. Altogether, today has been a fine beginning to our long ocean transit.
Today we are truly on our way. We have begun our “good old fashioned sea voyage” in earnest. We have sailed east from the Falkland Islands and into the Scotia Sea on our way to South Georgia. Throughout the entire day we have been sliding south into the “furious fifties,” the great westerly winds which blow, unimpeded by land, all the way around the Earth at these latitudes. We have following winds and sea, so our passage is a comfortable one as we gain our sea legs and explore the comforts of our home on Endeavour.
As we sail into the great Southern Ocean we are escorted, hour after hour, by the great soaring birds of these latitudes. Robert Cushman Murphy wrote, “I now belong to a higher cult of mortals, for I have seen the albatross! “Today we all share the feeling, for not only have we seen the albatross, including the snowy albatross pictured, but giant petrels, prions, pintado petrels, soft–plumaged petrels and storm petrels. These magnificent birds spend almost their entire lives at sea, soaring on the strong and dependable winds of the Southern Ocean, sometimes circumnavigating the globe many times over in their lifetimes.
Already we can feel the chill in the air as we approach the Antarctic Convergence, the boundary between the Atlantic and the great Southern Ocean with its highly productive waters. In addition to the birds we have seen at least one fin whale and expect more of both birds and marine mammals as the temperature drops and the food supply rises. Altogether, today has been a fine beginning to our long ocean transit.
