My journey begins - crossing the Drake

The night before the cruise I found a letter in my hotel room from Quark, with instructions for the next day -  a health form to complete (to hand in with my Covid pass) and labels for my luggage which would be collected in the morning and taken to the ship. 

So the morning arrived and I delivered my suitcase to reception. I took the shuttle down to the town and met the Quark team at the Albatross Hotel and handed in my health questionnaire and Covid vaccination forms. I walked along the quay and there were the 2 Quark ships; the Ocean Diamond was going to the Falklands and South Georgia before Antarctica and there was the slightly smaller Ocean Adventurer. 

First view of Ocean Adventurer

Whilst having lunch in the Albatross Hotel, I overheard a group of people talking about their cruise. They had just got off the Ocean Adventure. They told me they had had the most amazing time, but the Drake was rough with 8m waves!  So I took my ginger capsules and put my pressure bands on, crossing my fingers that it wouldn't be that bad!

Finally 3.30pm came and I boarded the bus to take us to the ship. Cheers and clapping rang through the bus as we pulled up next to the ship. One of the crew showed me to my cabin and there was my Yellow Parka (which we could take home) and boots (which were on loan). There was also a folding water bottle. Here was my home for the next 10 days. 

My cabin 221

When my cabin mate arrived, she said reception had mentioned that were some empty cabins, and was thinking about whether to upgrade to a single cabin. But it was quite expensive, so I suggested we share the cost as I would be gaining a single room as well. She was grateful for my offer and we let reception know to adjust our bills. I felt quite relieved as I had been a bit worried about sharing and the additional cost was much cheaper than it would have been originally.

We went to the lounge where there was fruit punch and lots of cake! Then we met the Quark team an heard about their different backgrounds and areas of expertise. They explained how they would be leading our expedition groups as well us giving us briefings and talks, these we could see in the lounge or were live streamed to the television in our cabins. 

They explained about Wifi, there was a paid option and a free connection we could use to access the ships intranet where we could access information and the daily programme (the programme was also displayed around the ship. The cost of Wifi was quite high so I decided to have a digital free holiday. 

Then came the forecast for crossing the Drake Passage! We were definitely going get the Drake Shake, and sadly not the Drake Lake. 

Dr Dave started his talk giving advice about how to manage sea sickness, reassuring us that he was on hand with different types of medication, if what we had wasn't working. 

We then went back to our cabins to prepare for the mandatory practice emergency evacuation. Putting the life jacket on needed some explanation, folding it back together needed even more. Under each of our bunks there were also immersions suits which they said we would be told if we needed to bring them. Was hoping they wouldn't be needed!

We then gathered on deck as we left the harbour. During the second course at dinner an announcement came that we were passing several penguin colonies, I rushed to my cabin and got my binoculars. As well as the penguins, we then saw albatrosses, cormorants and dusky dolphins swimming alongside the ship. Dylan (ornithologist) said they were opening the bow deck and we should go there, I did get a bit lost but one of the crew soon pointed me in the right direction. 

Dusky Dolphin image by Alex Forman 

The Beagle channel was calm as we all leaned over the side to see dusky dolphins swimming beside and in front of the ship. We even took turns to stand on the front bit of deck and could 6-7 dolphins swimming beneath us, jumping together as they surfed the bow wave. Such an amazing sight, they swam so fast and apparently can do bursts of speeds up to 20 knots.

Pilot boat 

I was already to take my sea sickness tablet before bed, but knew we might not start crossing the Drake until early morning so I decided to wait until morning.

Not the best first night's sleep with all the different noises. I woke several times and became aware how the ship was moving much more as we started to hit rougher seas, so I put my earplugs in and eventually went back to sleep.

In the morning I looked outside to an amazing view of a rough sea. I did start to feel a little queasy so took half a cyclizine and went to the lounge to help myself to tea and some fruit (restrained myself from the pastries). Every morning before breakfast the lounge always had tea, coffee, juice, fruit and pastries for the early risers.  

Breakfast was served at 8am and the dining room was not that busy, clearly some people were struggling with the rough seas, the food was delicious and I certainly felt better after eating. We then we had some talks from the different speakers about the wildlife - marine mammals, birds, geology. The afternoon mandatory sessions were postponed until tomorrow in the hope that those suffering from seasickness could attend. 

Moving around the ship and even the cabin was all a challenge, the sea was really rough with the occasional big swell when things came off tables etc in the dining room, at breakfast and lunch. Only one section of the outside deck was open, so in between talks I ventured outside, armed with my binoculars. The sea looked vast, with big swells (we later heard the captain had recorded them in the log as between 6 and 12 metres.

 

I felt quite nervous on deck with only a rail between me and this massive tempestuous ocean. But gradually I got more confident and held the rail with one hand and my binoculars with the other, I saw so many different types of albatrosses and petrels. It was wonderful to watch them soar around the back of the ship, diving into the sea or occasionally floating on the surface.

We heard in the evening briefing that the worst of the rough sea was nearly over and we were making our way to the south Shetland islands.

It was certainly calmer as we reached the islands and much colder, I needed all my layers as we stood on deck.