The Antarctic Circle

It’s 8am on the 16th February and we have just crossed latitude 66 degrees 60 minutes south: the Antarctic Circle. Since our departure from Ushuia, the temperature has gradually fallen, and the wildlife out on the open ocean has started to change. The fauna associated with the South American continent has been replaced by truly marine species of the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic continent. Aside from a slightly lumpy first night, we’ve been lucky to have had relatively flat seas.

A crab-eater seal hauled out on an ice flow

Tom and I have spent the past couple of days building up the equipment which we’ll deploy in the coming days. New fixings for the cameras, a good dose of silicon sealant around the exposed parts, and battery testing to ensure that the cameras will be able to last the next 12 months. We’ve also been preparing and giving talks to the passengers on the ship, explaining what we hope to achieve over the next few weeks.

Nudging our way through the pack ice, we see crab-eater, Weddell and fur seals, and spend a fantastic 30 minutes with a pair of humpback whales, right on the edge of the pack, seemingly playing in the brash ice. As we turn north again to head up to the Lemaire channel the temperature has dropped well below freezing. If the weather gods are smiling on us, tomorrow will be our first landing day.

Humpback whale taking a breath web