Antarctica to Zimbabwe – Day 22 – Silver Wind, Falkland Islands can be found here.
We’d hoped our first sea day after the Falkland Islands would offer us a respite from the go-go-go pace, but alas we are caught between the horns of the dilemma. Or in this case, between a time zone change and an early morning mandatory briefing.
But if you’re going to have an early morning briefing, then one narrated by Sir David Attenborough is the one to have.
And what comes next? Well, here is today’s Chronicle:
After the mandatory briefing, it’s time to do another round of biosecurity inspections. South Georgia has undergone extensive efforts to rid itself of mice, rats and even reindeer so they are understandably keen to prevent any further invasive species from arriving.
In fact, the Wind was inspected prior to our departure from the Falkland Islands and passengers will be subject to spot checks prior to our landings at Grytviken. Even a single seed or blade of grass represents a failure – if even 3 passengers fail, this could severely impact our access to South Georgia and our ability to make landings.
Back to our rooms to carefully inspect our outer layers and give everything a good scrub. We wouldn’t need to look after our boots as the expedition team would take care of that.
It wasn’t long before zodiac group 4 was called, and we went off for our inspection. I somehow managed to miss a seed inside my toque, but thankfully that was caught by the expedition guide.
The guide also suggested I use different gloves, as my leather gloves are badly worn and look dirty, though it’s simply wear rather than dirt. (Not an issue as I’d brought multiple pairs.)
Off to get a bit of homework and writing done, then it was time for lunch at the Restaurant. There’s an Asian buffet in addition to the regular menu:
My wife and I had the tuna carpaccio for our starter:
And I had a small sample from the buffet:
The dumplings and the duck were particularly tasty.
My wife had a chicken sandwich for her main:
While I had the fish and chips:
The kids split a pizza (not pictured).
After, we went up to Dolce Vita for a spot of golf putting:
Each passenger had five shots to make a hole. Five points for getting it in one, then losing a point for each additional shot. There were three holes in total, though the first – the toilet bowl – was by far the most challenging. We had a lot of people so we ended up combining the final two holes. It was a fun atmosphere with shouts of celebration (and groans of commiseration) as the game progressed.
We then took in the afternoon lecture by Sara Rodrigues regarding the nature of South Georgia.
We were particularly amazed by the sheer scale of the animal life. There are roughly five million fur seals in South Georgia, roughly 95% of the global population. This is in addition to some 30 million birds, including more than a million breeding pairs of king penguins – somewhere between half and two-thirds of the total population.
It was also quite funny to hear that – when king penguins were first discovered – the adults were initially thought to be a different species from the chicks, which were dubbed ‘woolly penguins’:
Source: Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (www.asoc.org)
We then went off to play a bit of table tennis, and check out today’s tournament.
The kids aren’t quite ready to play a full tournament yet, so the adults played through their own round of games and then we had a mini-match for the kids. Kudos to Chloe, our entertainment hostess, for coming up with a clever solution that included everyone.
My wife and kids then went off to take in the lecture on re-wilding South Georgia, while I went off for the first lesson in my photography masterclass.
Silversea has been under fire recently for cancelling their trip video program, claiming that it was because “the current offering does not meet the exceptional standards that we strive to uphold,” according to Conrad Combrink, the Senior Vice President of Expeditions for Silversea.
Simultaneously – and very conveniently – Silversea has been rolling out a pay-to-play photography instruction program including a photography masterclass and even the ability to take out a private zodiac, as well as another pay-to-play program in which you can have a video created using your own photographs and videos.
These videos cost $179 for a recap video, or $349 for the ‘Hollywood’ version. We have not yet decided whether we’ll purchase this – it seems irritatingly expensive for an offering that was included at the time we booked this cruise.
We absolutely loved the original recap videos, and we were very disappointed to have it cancelled. However, I recently purchased a high-end Nikon camera so I elected to sign on for the masterclass program.
The Wind’s photographer, Bogdan, got in touch on our first sea day to set up our initial meeting. The masterclass is technically scheduled for a single day, but he’s more than happy to spread it out across multiple days – which should really help me to absorb his lessons.
So while my wife and kids went off to the lecture on re-wilding South Georgia, I went off for my first meeting with Bogdan to learn the basics of my camera settings. We went through the differences between aperture – the width of the camera’s opening; shutter speed – how long the shutter is open; and ISO – the sensitivity of the camera.
Each variable has a different effect on the photo taken. A higher aperature – smaller opening – will allow a greater range of distances to be in focus, but limits the light coming into the camera. A slow shutter speed will let more light in, but can result in additional motion blur. ISO can compensate for both of these factors, but it can also introduce ‘grain’ to the photo.
So landscape shots would have a high aperature and low shutter speed, while wildlife photography typically has low aperature and fast shutter speed. Bogdan’s goal for his masterclass is to get to the point where I’ll be able to use my camera in Manual mode. It’s an intimidating concept, but after our first lesson I think we’ll manage to get there – though it may take the full 40 day cruise!
The lesson was so inspiring that I opted to take a few ocean shots after returning to our room:
There’s work to be done, but they turned out better than I’d expected.
It was then time to head to dinner at the Grill:
It was cool but still pleasant in a puffer coat beneath the heat lamps – though we did need sunglasses!
Hot Rocks is not currently operating on the Wind due to unspecified technical issues. My children are immensely disappointed, though I understand why Silversea would rather err on the side of caution.
Here is the new menu:
We also had the chance to flip through the cocktail list. There are some impressive offerings!
I went with the Agua Calada – a milder version of the pina colada.
Very tasty!
For dinner, we started with chips and guac:
My wife and I had then had the tuna poke.
This might actually be the prettiest photo I’ve ever taken
My wife and kids each had the tenderloin with baked potato:
While I opted for the prawns:
And for dessert, I had the lime and vanilla cheesecake:
While the kids had some ice cream. All very tasty.
Swells are notoriously difficult to capture, though I think this video gives a rough sense of our crossing. We’ve had roughly 4 meter / 12 foot swells but with a following sea. One of the smoothest South Georgia crossings the captain can remember.
Then it was time to turn in. We were pleasantly surprised to discover that Silversea had given us a box of chocolates to make up for the flight delay coming out of Punta Arenas.
A thoughtful gesture!
Here’s tomorrow’s Chronicle:
More laundry tonight, but no mandatory briefings until late tomorrow. Will we actually manage a sleep-in? With rolling waves and a late alarm, conditions are in our favour.
Continue reading Antarctica to Zimbabwe – Day 24 – Silver Wind.