Here is today's post from the ocean off the coast of Argentina.
Well we are finally underway and are now cruising at about 12 knots, approximately 30 miles off the shore of Terra Del Fuego, the island at tip of South America. To be on deck I had to do some safety training of my own – here is a picture from that session.
Chippin in a ring
Here are the basics for tracking our progress:
Latitude: 53 degress 43 minutes southLongitude: 66 degrees 33 minutes westTemp: 9.1 degrees CelciusWind: 1.8 meters per second or 6.5 kilometers per hourSunrise: 4:15 AMSunset: 11:55 PM
I attended our morning science briefing – the basic message was that this was a day to prep for science experiments – most of which will begin as soon as we leave Argentina's waters.
Chippy at a meeting
Many countries claim an area of 200 miles from their coastline as their marine territory (including the US) and you need to have special permits in order to conduct science, drill for oil, or fish within the boundary. We don't have permits so everything will begin about 200 miles south of the tip of South America – Cape Horn.
The skies are very clear – and it's been a great day for hanging out on deck watching for seabirds and swimming animals. We've seen a wide variety of birds today – including the Arctic terns that migrate all the way from Alaska to experience Antarctic summer, along with some more local birds such as shags (cormorants), great petrels, a few albatross, and some gulls. They seem to be a bit shocked to see a polar bear here so I'm having some difficulty getting any close-up pictures but this afternoon I'll try with the big telephoto and see what I can show you tomorrow. No whales yet – but we're looking hard.
Chippy on deck
The ocean is very smooth here – according to the Captain this is because we're protected from the strong winds that flow out of the west by the island of Terra Del Fuego. We'll enjoy it while we can – since when we reach Cape Horn – we'll feel the full impact of the weather and waves. The weather is supposed to be exception in the south right now – which translates too swells up to 3 meters (10 feet) and waves up to 5 meters (15 feet). When the boat came down from Sweden just three weeks ago they hit some rough weather in the North Sea – waves up to 30 feet and the boat was swaying up to 30 degrees in either direction. In talking with the engineer who has been on the boat for over 15 years – the Oden is very stable due to it's huge mass of steel on the lower keel – but this also makes it behave like a "weeble – wobble" – those toys that you push and they rock back and forth due to the heavy mass in their base. Should make for an interesting couple of days – I'll try to get in touch tomorrow – but when the ship is heaving it becomes tough to link up with the satellite that transfers our e-mail and phonemessages to the shore – so might hear from me until we reach Antarctic and things get calmer in the ice. Hope all is well at home in the US ---
Take Care – Mrs. Chippy and Mr. Miller