Drake Passage
01 March 2007 | Position 58 34'S 67 00'W
Our weather window materialised earlier than expected and we are now well on our way back across the Drake Passage. We have a steady 20 knots of wind from the SSW and are flying along in moderate seas - perfect conditions for "Wandering Albatross". Conditions are forecast to remain much the same for the next day or two and as we should make landfall sometime tomorrow it seems that the Drake has been kind to us. We left the Melchior Islands in heavy snow on the morning of the 26th after managing to prepare the boat for the passage in one busy day. Amongst other things we had to put our wind steering system back on the transom, collect about 100 L of water from a nearby stream of melting ice, check over the rig, stow everything securely, bake bread and prepare some underway meals, not to mention sharing cups of tea and slices of cake with Thies & Kicki on "Wanderer III"! As we motored slowly out of the channel and turned into the wind to hoist the mainsail a pair of Humpback whales surfaced a few hundred yards away and then approached the boat. To our delight they blew and dove and spyhopped around us at close quarters (see photo) and then swam near us as we reluctantly turned north, almost as if they were bidding us farewell. It was a perfect send off and as the smooth snow domes of the islands were swallowed in the driving snow behind us we vowed we would return one day to this magical, untouched wilderness at the bottom of the world. The next day was very calm and sunny and it seemed as if whichever direction you looked there was the high, bushy blow of a spouting whale, some near, some far and several passing close off the bow or surfacing at the stern. All appeared to be swimming slowly at the surface and heading in a generally northerly direction. It was a remarkable sight and we surmised that this must be Humpbacks beginning their long migration north to breeding grounds in tropical waters. Humpbacks that feed in the waters off the Antarctic Peninsula have been recorded breeding off the coast of Costa Rica, a straight line distance of at least 4500 miles and the longest confirmed migration of any individual mammal. On this incredible journey the whales average only one mile per hour as they rest and socialise frequently. We felt very lucky to have witnessed this moment and it was nice to think that we were leaving Antarctica at the same time as these special whales...