Antarctica: The Drake Passage

One of the main topics of conversation among the passengers even before we boarded the ship was what kind of motion sickness medication we had brought and when should we take it?

You see, the first two and last two days of our trip would involve crossing the Drake Passage, which is renowned for having the roughest seas in the world. However, it's also extremely unpredictable, to the point that Brandon, our expedition leader, told us that we could experience either the Drake Shake or the Drake Lake. And although the forecast as we were heading out was for not-too-bad conditions, he did emphasize that it could change at any time.

Now, I've suffered from motion sickness my whole life, so I came prepared. I brought a prescription patch that you place behind your ear so it administers the drug gradually over a three-day period. I put that on as soon as we boarded the ship, because it needs to get into your system before you actually start feeling in. In addition, I had my Dramamine tablets and wristbands that have a little button on them that supposedly works on an accupressure point on the inside of your wrists to prevent nausea.

The first night wasn't a concern at all, as we navigated through the Beagle Channel (which was good, because it meant we could enjoy our glass of champagne and welcoming dinner without worry). But we all knew that the real test would be when we woke up the next morning.

I don't remember what time I woke up, but I was definitely aware of the increased motion of the ship. What was weird was that our beds were perpendicular to the direction of travel, so instead of rolling side to side like the ship was, I was rolling head to toe, almost like I was on an inversion table.

I had to go to the bathroom, which was down the hall, so that was my first attempt at walking against the motion. One of the rules for rough seas is to “keep one hand for yourself and one for the ship,” which was excellent advice, as I clutched the handrails the entire way.

Of course, Brandon made an announcement over the P.A. system on Saturday morning telling us all how “lucky” we were, because this was actually the best conditions he'd experienced in a while. Spoken like someone who spends a lot of time at sea!

In truth, though, over the next two days I definitely was seasick at times, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I had expected. I never actually threw up and when I felt a little queasy, I would go lie down for half an hour or so, and that would make a big difference and hold me over for a couple more hours. Going out on deck with the fresh air helped a lot as well.

There were a few people who didn't seem to be affected at all, but the meals and other group activities were definitely sparsely attended throughout the trip. (I only missed one lunch, but didn't eat a heckuva lot at the other times.)

So what did we do during those days? The main activities were presentations by the Quark staff on a variety of topics, and briefings on what to expect when we actually got to Antarctica. So this is a good time to introduce our Quark team, who were just wonderful. (The picture below was actually taken at the farewell dinner, but it's the only good one I have of them all—click on the image for a larger version.)

From left to right, they are:

• Gustavo, geologist, who gave lectures on the various rock and ice formations that created the continent
• Louise, the kayak master, who led all the kayaking trips
• Mariano, historian, whose presentations focused mainly on the early explorers
• Jamie, naturalist (from Canada!), who also accompanied the kayakers in a zodiac
• Brandon, expedition leader (also Canadian!!), who was pretty much responsible for everything related to the trip
• Graeme (or “Snowy,” because his last name is Snow), ornithologist, who taught us all about the penguins and other seabirds we'd be encountering on the trip
• Cath, our doctor, who liked to walk around the bar with a baggie full of pills, announcing “free drugs... get your free drugs here”

I wish I could say I attended all the presentations in full but, for some reason, the lecture room seemed to be the worst place on the ship for triggering our seasickness (which was weird, because it was in the middle of the ship on a low deck, so theoretically should have been one of the best locations). But the ones (and partial ones) I attended were really interesting—all the lecturers had great senses of humour as well as tons of knowledge on their subjects—and they really added to the whole experience.

One of the really nice aspects of the trip was that the ship had an open-bridge policy most of the time. That meant that we could go up to the bridge whenever we wanted to watch the crew in action or look for wildlife.

There's not really a lot to see during the Drake portion of the voyage other than some seabirds circling around. I took a LOT of pictures, but I didn't manage to get any that I was really happy with. But here are a couple of examples of what we were seeing.

The wandering albatross has the largest wingspan of any bird, at around 10 ft. [UPDATE: While this fact is accurate, reader Geoff informs me that the picture below is not, in fact, a wandering albatross, but a black-browed albatross. Gorgeous nonetheless!]

The cape petrel has these gorgeous black and white markings on its wings that reminded me of paintings of birds by Canadian native artists.

While the lectures were interesting, and it was nice to have a chance to get to know our fellow passengers, by the time we all went to bed on Sunday night, everyone was really psyched for the next day's activities, when we'd finally be leaving the ship and discovering Antarctica up close at last!

Next installment: Iceberg ahead!

Comments

[Anne Murphy]

I can TOTALLY sympathize with your motion sickness. I'm so bad, I need to take Gravol to go skiing! I'm glad you got through it. Looking forward to hearing about the big adventure...

[Bud Zilcoski]

I just finished reading the book about the "Endurance" voyage in the early 1900's and cannot imagine anyone taking on such a voyage at this time in history when there were so few instruments to help guide them and keep them alive. The men who went were with the bravest men in the world or the most insane to know what they would be facing when they headed to the South. It is a terrifling journal and as I sit in the 95+ degreees of Washington, DC (USA) it can only help to cool me off when I read about what these men went through. How so many of them actually survived is a testament to their fortitude and/or sense of adventure.

[Geoff Grant]

The photograph of the 'wandering albatross' is in fact a black browed albatross. You can see the black line horizontal across the top of the eye. The wanderer has narrower and longer wings and the topsides of the wings are black and white but more variable than the black-browed, which has black topsides and the black outline and white centres on the undersides, which you can just make out. Not easy to recall the finer points of identification when the ship is rolling!

[Elizabeth]

Thanks for the correction, Geoff. You're right that conditions weren't prime for identifying birds in flight. Not to mention, I'm not very good at identification myself, so I was going on the word of our trip leaders. Still--a gorgeous bird nonetheless!