December 5, 2025

Sailing South through the Drake Passage

Friday Morning. Early this morning I was jolted awake by what sounded like breaking glass. More than half asleep I realized we must be in the rough seas of the passage because I could feel the movement of the ship. It is then I realized that a teacup had fallen on the floor and broken. It apparently has rolled off the edge of the dresser. Nothing I could do about it, so I went back to sleep.

It had just gone 05:45 when I woke up. It took a little more time to navigate the way to the bathroom to shower and get dressed because the ship was moving so much. It really isn’t even half as bad as I expected it to be. Once the sun came up it even seemed to calm down.

Showered and dressed I headed down to the Arts Café for my cappuccino and brioche. They didn’t have any croissants out this morning, so I had one of the mini blueberry muffins and a bowl of oatmeal. Enrique and Nwe brought me my cappuccino without even being asked. They even remembered to bring my glass of still water to go with it. I sat and did yesterday’s blog post before heading back to the cabin. After my second cappuccino I headed back to the cabin.

So, what is all the fuss about The Drake Passage? Well, The Drake Passage or Hoces Sea, is the body of water between Cape Horn in Chile at the southern extreme end of the South American mainland and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica. It connection point of thee oceans: the southwestern part of the Atlantic Ocean (Scotia Sea), the southeastern part of the Pacific Ocean and the Southern Ocean. The passage is named after the 16th-century English explorer and privateer Sir Francis Drake.

The Drake Passage is considered one of the most treacherous voyages for ships to make. The Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which runs through it, meets no resistance from any landmass, and waves can top 40 feet (12 m), giving it a reputation for being "the most powerful convergence of seas".

As the Drake Passage is the narrowest passage (choke point) around Antarctica, its existence and shape strongly influence the circulation of water around Antarctica and the global oceanic circulation, as well as the global climate. The bathymetry (seabed topography) of the Drake Passage plays an important role in the global mixing of oceanic water.

It maybe a little early, not having gone 08:00 yet, but the sea seems fairly calm. Apparently once we make a course adjust to the west in a few hours, the sea, according to Enrique, will be much calmer. So, no seasickness medication is going to be necessary on this trip.

We all went to the 09:00 mandatory IAATO briefing. The IAATO (International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators) ia a trade association founded in 1991 by Antarctic tour operators to promote and practice safe, environmentally responsible tourism in Antarctica. It operates under the Antarctic Treaty System and has developed guidelines for minimizing tourism’s impact on the continent’s fragile environment and wildlife. It covers things like ship size, number of people who can be in one place at a time, where you can land, how far away from the animals you must be, and the like. Being the constant skeptic that I am, it is all of those things, but it is also a way to keep the competition down.

After the IAATO meeting we headed back to the cabin to gather our gear for the Mandatory Biosecurity examination. We are going to be called down by zodiac group number, we’re in number four, beginning at 09:45. Getting all of our thins together actually took about a half hour. They want to examine all previously used backpacks, gloves, waterproof pants, parkas, beanies, trekking poles, tripods and anything else which may have come into contact with any thing which shouldn’t be taken to Antarctica.

We were called down about 10:20. There was a line and it took about thirty minutes for them to examine and “clean” all of the clothing and other items. They used headlamps, brushes and vacuums to examine and clean under the watchful eye of an IAATO respresentative.

Afterwards we went to the Mudroom on Deck 3 to have our boots and trekking poles disinfected. Finally, we were all done and headed back to the room to stow everything, having left our boots near our locker in the Mudroom as instructed. It may have been seasickness or just plain tried, but I went to bed just before it has gone noon. I slept until 15:30.

Since I missed lunch Mary went down to the Arts Café and got me some cheese and crackers. I finished my book and just took it easy until it was time to go to the Recap and Briefing at 17:45. We got down to the lounge just before it had gone 17:00 and texted Richard and Susan we were there. As usual they went over the events of the day and talk about our crossing the Drake Passage.

After the recap and briefing we headed to Deck 5 and the Grill for dinner. The sea is rough. Things were sliding all over the place. They had “special” placemats which helped hold dishes and glasses in place on the table. They had an appetizer of shrimp, beef and chicken served with different sauces. Susan had a Caesar Salad. Mary had a pasta salad with avocado and corn, probably left over from the Mexican lunch they had in the grill today.

Mary had Salmon and a baked potato as her main. Susan and Richard both had the lobster tail and a baked potato. I had the lamb chops with a baked potato. They didn’t have mint jelly, but they did have a mint sauce. The mint sauce wasn’t quite as satisfying as mint jelly would have been.

After dinner I went for my usually after-dinner cigar. Relaxed in the lounge before heading to bed. Upon returning to the room, we had two invitations. One for a Venetian Society gathering for first time Silver Sea sailors, at 11:00. The second one was for dinner with the Capitan and Expedition Staff to tomorrow night. We’re going to go to both, but will have to cancel the Il Terrazzino reservation for tomorrow night. Yes, they are both events for sales pitches for Silver Sea, but I want to play along as I am looking at their Gapápagos cruise in 2027.  

Buonanotte e ciao,

Enrico e Maria