The incredible run of fine weather that has lasted a week broke yesterday and this morning we awoke to find ourselves enveloped in thick fog, brought by a warm (relatively speaking!) and very light northerly breeze. We got an early start in spite of the bad visibility, relying on radar and GPS waypoints we had entered on the way into Enterprise Island to navigate out between two small islands. As we had hoped, the fog lifted a little as we reached the more open water of the Gerlache Strait. Ice shows up well on the radar and with visibility now up to a mile we set a course for the Neumayer Channel on the opposite side of the Gerlache Strait. Although the scenery was hidden in the mist, the day had its own magic as we had a long, panoramic view of ice and rock sandwiched between the low grey cloud base and the mirror-like pewter of the sea. Occasional shafts of sunlight broke through to illuminate a single ice berg or a distant glacier in startling clarity, creating an almost surreal scene. By the time we were entering the north end of the Neumayer Channel (see photo) in mid-afternoon the light was improving and we were able to appreciate the grandeur of the 1.5 mile wide passage. To port were almost sheer rock cliffs rising into the clouds, so steep that even the tenacious ice could not find a grip; to starboard the ice clad slopes of the mountains on Anvers Island soared out of sight, with vast glaciers of tumbling, tortured ice filling the valleys. As we came around the final point the sun was breaking through to reveal truly breath taking vistas in all directions, a world of ice and mountains. We could also see that the way ahead was choked with ice, small bergs and brash ice jostling together with no clear leads. It is the most ice we have encountered so far and the final miles were taken at a snail's pace as we wove our way between the larger bergs, pushing through the small bits and pieces in between - both exciting and nerve-wracking! Our destination was Dorian Bay, a tiny enclosed pool entered through a very narrow gap only 10 feet deep, between an ice cliff and a rock reef. Once inside we tied 4 lines ashore to rocks and sat in the cockpit to take in the magnificent surroundings. A large colony of Gentoo penguins is spread over every rocky mound, the closest group about 100m from the boat and we can hear them crooning and trilling to each other, a totally different sound to the Chinstraps.....