18 Jan 2018

SHO: First Iceberg Sighted and Amazing Wildlife

Yesterday it was 198 years since the Russian, Admiral Bellingshausen’s expedition, discovered continental Antarctica. He reached latitude 69o South and we are now well south on our traverse of the Southern Ocean. Not an entirely comfortable ride as have had some interesting, character building seas.  However just imagine what it must have been like on Bellingshausen’s Vostok; about half the length of the Akademic Shokalskiy.

It is now mid-afternoon Wednesday 18th. The seas have calmed and we have passed 60o South latitude. This places us in the waters that are under the Antarctic Treaty and means that no waste or any other materials can be disposed of at sea.

The first iceberg was sighted on radar at 4 a.m. today. The competition of what time and what latitude we will see the first ice berg to the naked eye remains to be seen. We have been very lucky with our cetacean spotting – orcas, humpbacks and a fin whale have all been seen from the bridge today. Amazingly, a white humpback whale was also seen passing the ship. Could it be the famous Migaloo, known to frequent the Australian East coast every year and a favourite to the locals there? Unfortunately we were too far away to make a positive identification however the excitement amongst those who saw it was great!