Rough Water: Crossing the Drake Passage
The Drake Passage is the 600 mile wide channel between the tip of South America (Cape Horn) and the South Shetland Islands. It connects the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans. Until the Panama Canal was built, ships had to travel around Cape Horn to get from one ocean to the other.
The Drake is notorious for rough water. When I left Ushuaia, Argentina on December 19 for Antarctica, I was apprehensive about the passage. Would I encounter fierce storms or “Drake Lake?” Like my shipmates, I slapped on a seasick-prevention patch as soon as the ship set out in the Beagle channel and hoped for the best.
Although I thought I had secured everything in the cabin, I awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of various items rolling and crashing about the the cabin. I couldn’t walk because of the roll of the ship, so I crawled from my bed to gather and secure the items. I learned never to leave the lid of the toilet open on a ship, lest the medicine cabinet fly open and empty its contents into it!
When morning came (which is difficult to tell with the nearly constant daylight), the rolling lessened just a bit. I crawled to the couch and shot some video. My cabin was on deck 5 in the bow of the ship, so the windows point slightly skyward. So when sitting on the couch in a calm sea, I should see only the sky. As you can see in the video, I was able to see sky and sea alternating. That gives you an idea of the roll of the ship. You can also get an idea of the roll by the movement of the sunlight through the window.
I later checked with the bridge and found out that the worst roll that night was 30 degrees to each side, with waves as much as 6 meters. The wind was a Force 8 gale on the Beaufort scale. The Drake wasn’t as bad as it could have been, but I was happy I put the seasick-prevention patch on.
Our Captain adjusted our course, changing the itinerary, so that the ship (M/V Polar Star) was going with the sea rather than against it. That smoothed out the rest of the passage considerably.
The passage on the way back from Antarctica was essentially smooth, the waves being only 3 to 4 meters. and the wind a Force 6 strong breeze.
In the upcoming weeks I’ll be writing more about my adventures in Antarctica. It was a fabulous trip—a dream come true thanks to Polar Star Expeditions.
Like
January 6th, 2010 at 8:38 am
Wow, I hope the patch worked!!!
January 6th, 2010 at 8:52 am
The Scopolamine patch worked as advertised. The only side effect I had was a dry mouth. That’s much better than nausea and vomiting!
January 6th, 2010 at 9:25 am
Wow, what an adventure! I await further details!
January 25th, 2010 at 11:47 pm
I’m heading to Antarctica on the Polar Star Feb. 15. What kind of camera did you take? Any problems taking photos? How did you keep your camera dry on the zodiac? Your pictures are great.
January 26th, 2010 at 8:43 am
I was prepared for very high winds and lots of precipitation, ice on the gangway, and lots of spray in the Zodiac. But I didn’t encounter anything as bad as I imagined. When the Zodiac is moving at high speed, I always kept my cameras zipped in a Lowe All Weather Slingpack, with the pack in front of me. EXCEPT for my Canon Powershot D10, which is waterproof to 33 feet depth. I figured I could take photos in case the Zodiac sunk.
When we did Zodiac tours—driving around in them for a few hours—our expedition staff would stop for photo ops or just to let us absorb the scenery. Then I would take out my Canon VIXIA, which is an HD video camera (SF 11). My husband took most of the photos I’ve been posting on my blog with a Canon 7D and L-series lenses—nothing larger than 200 mm. We both brought rain covers for our cameras. I used it twice, but he never used his. It never rained or snowed that hard.
We each brought back-up gear (older models) just in case one of us dropped a camera in the sea or encountered bad weather that caused a camera to malfunction. I’ve been on trips where other people had camera issues and where it was too remote to anything about it. I figured if I had a backup and didn’t need it, I could always lend the extra gear to a fellow passenger. However, no one on our ship encountered issues that I am aware of.
The Polar Star expedition staff are always taking photos. At the end of the trip, you can purchase a CD from them for a very small fee. That’s the ultimate backup! If you lose your photos, you’ll still have great pics.
I suggest that you worry as much about your feet as your camera. The Zodiac cruises can last up to 3 hours. There is nothing much between your feet, the bottom of the boat, and the icy cold sea. My feet were toasty warm because I brought foot warmers and brought my own extreme-weather Muck boots. They are the “upgrade” boots from the company that the Polar Star recommends for gear. Don’t get talked into getting the less expensive ones! The ship provides boots, but they are not the as good. My feet get cold easily. Above all, you’ll want to be comfortable.
Great ship. Great crew. Lots of fun. I wish I could be on the Feb. 15 cruise!
January 26th, 2010 at 8:46 am
P.S. I have lots more Antarctica photos in my web gallery. http://gallery.me.com/laden
January 26th, 2010 at 10:53 am
Thanks so much for such good info! I looked at the photos and they were great, I’ll be happy if I can get some as nice as yours. I’m going out and buying the foot warmers, my feet get cold easily and then I’m miserable. I’m taking a Canon 30D with a macro lens and a 200mm zoom lens and a G10 point and shoot. I’ve got an old G7 and if I can find it I’ll take it as a backup. I don’t have an all weather camera case but I bought a heavy duty dry sack with a sling that I hope will do the trick. I’m going to have to depend on the boots that are provided because I just don’t have any extra room to take a pair. I did get really good polar socks and liners which should help. I get cold easily so I got heavy grade polar fleece for laying and heavy duty rain pants that have some insulation. I’ve probably overdone it but better to be safe than sorry. I’ll be staying in the bottom of the boat in one of the women’s triple rooms sharing a bathroom with another triple room. Six people sharing a bathroom should be an adventure!
January 29th, 2010 at 7:35 am
Love reading about all the dressing for the cold. A daily event here in Island Park! The right boots make all the difference, and something warm on the ears, too. Have a great trip, Laura.
January 29th, 2010 at 8:32 am
I am a cold weather wimp. One of these days I’ll post a photo of all the layers I was wearing. It really wasn’t that cold except when it was windy. There was wind, but even if the wind was mild, the Zodiac ride would be chilly—the faster the ride, the colder it got.
April 2nd, 2010 at 6:42 am
wow, sweet info