As scheduled, we dropped anchor in Port Stanley harbor. And, as rumored, the Celebrity Eclipse had already arrived. When I opened my drapes it was dark. The kind of dark that comes from heavy clouds and rain.
I had planned to take the tender to shore to see if I could take a taxi or bus to see some penguins but the weather was not appealing. At about 6:30 a.m. the Captain announced that it was currently raining heavily, 43 degrees and 45 MPH winds. Plus, we'd be tendering to a floating dock which was partially under water part of the time. He urged anyone with any type of mobility issues to stay on the ship. Since I tend to tip over, it made my decision to stay on board easy.
On my way to breakfast I shared the elevator with a warmly dressed couple and their 7 year old son. He was very excited about getting off to see penguins. So it was sad that 10 minutes later, the Captain came on again to say that due to weather conditions it was simply not safe to tender. The Harbor Master said no more tendering would be allowed because the weather was deteriorating.
Instead, we'd be sailing off and treating this as an additional sea day.
I headed to my favorite spot in the Crow's Nest to hang out, look at the scenery and read. Because it has been freezing in many places on the ship, I took my down throw with me and was glad I did. Two people asked me if they could buy one on board. Sorry, no. It was a gift from my friends Greg and Vickie more than 20 years ago.
At 12:30 Captain Jonathon came on for his daily location and weather update from the bridge. He started by saying "A number of passengers have asked my staff and officers why the Eclipse was able to start tendering and we didn't and they were still there when we left."
He continued "I don't have to address these questions, but I will." I believe that was a not so subtle reminder that he alone is in charge of the ship and our safety. It did get an immediate chuckle from the other nearby passengers. He then went on to explain that the other ship dropped anchor 1 1/2 hours before we did, which enabled them to get passengers off early for shore excursions. Also, that they were using a different, higher tender dock with made it easier and safer to off-load passengers.
He went on to talk about the weather and seas we could expect today and tomorrow as we cruise toward Antarctica. Weather will continue to be rainy with temperatures in the low 40's. Winds will pick up a bit and as we head into the Southern Ocean, seas will become rougher.
He also informed us that sunrise tomorrow is 4:57 a.m and sunset is 9:01 p.m.
The Drake Passage, which we'll be crossing tomorrow is know as being some of the wildest waters on the planet. As I learned in the "wave talk" the other day, that's because the Southern Ocean allows waves to go around the southern end of the planet without being interrupted by any land mass. Think about the Atlantic Ocean - its waves are stopped in the east by Europe and the west by the Americas. Waves pick up speed and size as wind travels unhindered by land. The longer the distance and the higher the winds the higher the waves.
With the Southern Ocean the wind and waves race unimpeded around Antarctica. Then they're compressed in the Drake Passage.
Experienced cruisers on board have had a variety of experiences from no problems to harrowing. One passenger shared that after making the passage a few years ago they had to spend several extra days in Ushuaia, restocking and repairing since most breakable things, broke. Yikes.
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