Michael Nolan, Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
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Daily Expedition
Reports
11 Dec 2014
At Sea, 12/11/2014, National Geographic Explorer
Aboard the
National Geographic Explorer
Antarctica
Our adventure to the “Great White South” has finally begun as we are steadily sailing a south course to the Antarctic. There was a bit of wind and some ship movement as we make our way through the “Furious Forties” but this is an average crossing.
There were some great sightings of the beautiful seabirds that call the Southern Ocean home throughout the day. We had our first looks at southern giant petrels, Cape petrels, and the largest seabird of them all, the wandering albatross. Several of the ship’s staff members gave informative lectures. It was a great first day aboard and we all look forward to what tomorrow may bring!
Stephanie is a marine mammal scientist who began her career studying finback and humpback whales from a small isolated lighthouse island off the coast of Bar Harbor, Maine. This project—an effort to identify individual whales by matching dorsal fin ...
Michael Nolan was born in Bitburg, Germany to an Air Force family stationed there. His first experience of the ocean came at age 12, when he learned to snorkel in the Italian Mediterranean. At age 17 he moved to Tucson, Arizona and became a PADI SCUB...
This morning, we had a later start than usual after a late night enjoying the crew show. Our galley team gifted us with a fulfilling brunch. We then had a brilliant forum about climate change with the participation of our panel of experts onboard. Afterward, our expedition leader called us to the bow to see Cape Horn, which was only a few miles ahead. The good weather allowed us to have a smooth and fast crossing, allowing extra time to swing by Cape Horn, the most southern tip of the Americas. Over the PA system, Steven provided a very interesting description of the historical importance of this area, then Pablo read a beautiful poem, a memorial to the seaman lost at sea. We could see the monument in the distance, two metal sheets that depict an albatross in flight. During the afternoon, we enjoyed Madalena’s presentation about Women in Antarctica. This was an incredible voyage through the struggles and delays of allowing women to participate in science and logistics in Antarctica. We entered the Beagle Channel around 17:00 and we encountered black-browed albatrosses, cormorants, dolphins, and whales. On our final approach to the beautiful city of Ushuaia, we passed by Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse and some of the seals that live in the Bridges Islands Archipelago.
After an absolutely breathtaking expedition south of the Antarctic Circle complete with four separate killer whale sightings, too many humpbacks to count, breathtaking bays filled with ice, and sea ice filled with resting seals of all types, we set our heading north. The Southern Ocean was kind to us as we sailed through calm waters and rainy skies. During our day at sea, we kept busy with lectures from the expedition staff, an afternoon watercolor workshop, a presentation about the ship by Captain Heidi Norling, and a tour of the engine room. As the sun dipped lower, we celebrated the culture of many of our crew family with a Filipino dinner followed by a crew performance. It was a cracking day at sea!
National Geographic Resolution spent the day surrounded by icebergs and sea ice in Crystal Sound as the weather got sunnier throughout the day. Guests experienced Detaille Island during the morning activities. Everyone went on guided Zodiac rides around the island where we saw numerous crabeater seals and icebergs. We stopped to observe an Adelie penguin colony, including dozens of penguins waiting to jump in the ocean. Many people went on shore to see the historic research hut from 1956-58, including all the original canned food and equipment kept in pristine condition. Some guests climbed the snowy hill to see the top of the penguin colony across a deep ravine. In the afternoon, the ship cruised around Crystal Sound so we could see the sea ice, glacial icebergs, and huge tabular icebergs. There were beautiful blue sea caves and arches in many of the icebergs, as well as dozens of crabeater seals on the sea ice. However, two humpback whales stole the show when they appeared in the sea ice near the ship. We could hear their loud exhaling and see them diving up close. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, enjoying a presentation, cocktail hour, recap, and dinner as the sun showed brightly in the west. What a perfect day to end our awesome week in Antarctica.
