Greetings from the Ocean Tramp!
Last we left you – we were making our way to the Lemaire Channel. After a good long travel in the fog, the peaks of Cape Renard began to poke out as the sun burned up the surrounding mist. Suddenly the sun came out, and we were amazed by the sight of many towering peaks. The ice was too thick to travel through the channel, but the view alone was worth the travel to see it.
On our way back we spotted porpoising penguins and a crabeater seal resting on ice. We were now making our way to the Melchior islands to anchor for the evening, beginning our trek back north. On the way we spotted 3 different humpbacks, both near and far. Filming with my Infrared camera, I was able to test sightings in a variety of sea conditions, noting the both the challenges and advantages of using Infrared in the Antarctic. One notable pro of using Infrared is that it can easily distinguish “humpback-shaped” icebergs from actual humpbacks due to the lack of heat signature. Often to the naked eye, it was easy to mistake small distant bergs to resting or “logging” humpbacks.
Tonight we take a dip in the sea for our polar plunge! I will report back how we fair it!
Cheers,
Laura Howes
