Crossing the Scotia Sea
Position at 1200: 52º 19’ south, 52º 45’ west
Yesterday our voyage began with excitement and anticipation of the days ahead on this joint Lindblad Photo Expedition and National Geographic Expedition to the White Continent of Antarctica. We embarked the Endeavour in the Falkland Islands after exploring Stanley on East Falkland Island. As we finished dinner, the ship headed out to sea under clear skies and over calm seas. Our first destination is the wildlife Mecca of South Georgia, over 740 nautical miles away.
Today, the perfect sailing conditions continued. Photographers were out on deck early with their cameras trained on the seabirds following the ship. Our escorts included the graceful black-browed albatross (today’s photo) and the swift pintado petral. But the prize sighting of the day were the occasional wandering albatross. What a challenge it was to make images of the magnificent seabirds as they soared and darted past the ship.
Throughout the day the ship’s expedition staff prepared us for the days ahead with a series of captivating presentations in the lounge. After breakfast, Stefan Lundgren kicked off the program with his talk “Vagabonds of the Sea,” which illustrated the natural history of the seabirds we would encounter on this voyage. Before lunch, Ralph Lee Hopkins got our creative juices flowing with his talk, “Creativity and Your Camera,” and Jack Swenson introduced the new and exciting world of digital photography. During the afternoon Gordon Wiltsie, our National Geographic guest photographer, inspired us with thrilling images from his life’s adventure exploring some of the world’s most remote (and dangerous) destinations. And after tea, Dr. Steve Mac Lean completed the program with an introduction to “Winds and the Southern Ocean.”
The day was capped off with Captain Karl Lampe hosting the welcome cocktail reception and dinner. From the dining room we could see the silhouettes of albatross skimming the tops of the waves.
Position at 1200: 52º 19’ south, 52º 45’ west
Yesterday our voyage began with excitement and anticipation of the days ahead on this joint Lindblad Photo Expedition and National Geographic Expedition to the White Continent of Antarctica. We embarked the Endeavour in the Falkland Islands after exploring Stanley on East Falkland Island. As we finished dinner, the ship headed out to sea under clear skies and over calm seas. Our first destination is the wildlife Mecca of South Georgia, over 740 nautical miles away.
Today, the perfect sailing conditions continued. Photographers were out on deck early with their cameras trained on the seabirds following the ship. Our escorts included the graceful black-browed albatross (today’s photo) and the swift pintado petral. But the prize sighting of the day were the occasional wandering albatross. What a challenge it was to make images of the magnificent seabirds as they soared and darted past the ship.
Throughout the day the ship’s expedition staff prepared us for the days ahead with a series of captivating presentations in the lounge. After breakfast, Stefan Lundgren kicked off the program with his talk “Vagabonds of the Sea,” which illustrated the natural history of the seabirds we would encounter on this voyage. Before lunch, Ralph Lee Hopkins got our creative juices flowing with his talk, “Creativity and Your Camera,” and Jack Swenson introduced the new and exciting world of digital photography. During the afternoon Gordon Wiltsie, our National Geographic guest photographer, inspired us with thrilling images from his life’s adventure exploring some of the world’s most remote (and dangerous) destinations. And after tea, Dr. Steve Mac Lean completed the program with an introduction to “Winds and the Southern Ocean.”
The day was capped off with Captain Karl Lampe hosting the welcome cocktail reception and dinner. From the dining room we could see the silhouettes of albatross skimming the tops of the waves.
