TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8 - The Drake Passage

About 5AM we wake up and look outside, there is a heavy sea fog! It is like looking into pea soup, no Cape Horn for us. We go back to bed and sleep until 8AM.

After breakfast in the dinning room we go to the 9:45AM lecture by Terry on the Antarctica Treaty. We learn that this is the second and last season for Regent in Antarctica and for any other ships not willing or able to burn light fuel such as diesel. Ships over 500 passengers have been restricted from landings period for some years. From our Polar Star adventure in 2008, we know that the smaller ships can only land 100 passengers at a time. Looking at the 2012 itineraries of several cruise lines, like HAL, some of them plan to continue at least some Antarctica sailings. After this experience we will be able to comment on what is worth coming to see for just a sail by with no landings. Last year the Mariner was only able to see Elephant Island and only for a short period of time due to the weather and seas. Celebrity didn’t even try. They were sailing the same itinerary and turned around in the Drake Passage.

At 11AM we have a briefing of sorts with the Captain and the Ice Captain, in other words the Pilot. We are told we really have no schedule except to be in the Falklands on the 13^th. Everything is dependent on the weather and ice conditions. We are scheduled for three different locations and have three alternates to try in case of problems. Elephant Island is an alternate as it was last year according to the Captain. Tomorrow we are scheduled for Deception Island.  We are keeping our fingers crossed.

The Captain does explain that he had permission from the Chilean authorities to do a sail around Cape Horn and was due there at 7AM...later than what he first thought, but when he got within 5 miles the lighthouse station keeper waved both the Mariner and the Infinity, which we were following, off due to low visibility...of just 1 km. Oh well glad we went back to sleep. We had seen the Horn on a beautiful clear day in 2008.
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Today is a very low key. We are lucking out with the "Drake Lake"...winds of only 20 to 30 knots and the sun is out. I have see some petrals diving around the ship. There is some movement to the ship and we have to watch our balance, but it is a good crossing. Some people are sick, but they are the ones that get sick in the shower.  Why would you take this trip with that kind of problem?

Late in the day we get into some sea fog, but the seas remain OK. Dick plays on the computer and goes to Trivia...the team isn’t doing so well...third most days recently. Carolyn reads and naps. The dinner menu is one of those we haven’t really cared for. Dick has turkey and dressing and Carolyn has a steak. The sun is setting around 10PM and rising around 5AM.