MS National Geographic Explorer
Cuverville Island and Port Lockroy
Sunday, February 13, 2011

    We awoke early this morning with a report of killer whales sighted in the Gerlache Straight. There was a group consisting of a male, female, and two or three juveniles. They didn't get close enough for good photography, but it was still interesting to watch them through binoculars. They appeared to be type B orcas.

    We continued south and reached Orne Harbour, the location where we had planned to make a landing this morning. Upon arrival, we found that an iceberg in the harbor had disintegrated, and there were a lot of bergy bits and growlers floating as a large ice field. This made landing by Zodiac difficult or impossible. In addition, there was a localized katabatic wind forming and we observed some very intense gusts – perhaps up to 40 knots.

    We decided not to attempt a landing and repositioned the ship at Cuverville Island. I've visited Cuverville on three previous occasions. It is the site of the largest colony of gentoo penguins on the Antarctic Peninsula. This late in the season, most adults left are those that are still molting. This year's chicks are primarily still waiting for their final real feathers to grow in, so they stand around in the rookeries looking hungry. A few are starting to dare go out and swim. The condition of the island is that of a swamp – a mixture of snow, water, algae, and lots of penguin guano. After crawling around in that gunk for a couple of hours trying to get some photographs, I was covered from head to toe in that smelly mess. Did I mention that a mixture of rain and sleet was also falling? It is just par for the course of a wildlife photographer.

    There were a few adults that were still on nests with very small chicks. The gentoo penguin is the only brushtail that will breed and try to raise another chick in a season when both their first eggs fail. These little chicks are going to have a hard time for survival, though.

    It took quite a while to get all my clothing and gear cleaned up after the Cuverville landing. You have to be thorough, though, because the smallest amount of residual guano can stink up your cabin and maybe the rest of the ship. That would make you very unpopular.

    In the afternoon, the ship moved on to Port Lockroy and Jougla Point. The wind was very strong and the water was rough, but landings were made at both the historical base and the gentoo rookery. Having already visited these sights three previous times, I decided that braving these conditions was not going to outweigh the benefits of staying on a warm, dry ship and conserving my energy for the coming weeks.

    Tomorrow will be our last full day in the area of the Antarctic Peninsula. Tomorrow night we reenter the Drake Passage for the trip back to Ushuaia. We hope to pass through the Lemaire Channel in the morning and spend some time on Booth Island. Later, we will sail back up north to Dallman Bay before setting course for Ushuaia.