Drake Passage – Day 1: Crossing the Threshold
DRAKE PASSAGE
Day 1: Crossing the Threshold
March 05, 2023
PART I
So I guess my first cruise ever would be one that’d take me all the way to Antarctica. Pretty rad, if I may say so myself. Waking up next to Dan, a Canadian guy with whom I’d be sharing this experience, amongst some other 120 people on board the G-Expedition ship, I still found myself in pure disbelief that I’d be going to Antarctica.
One of the most popular questions that would come up during the trip was, “What made you decide to do this?” Everyone had the most grandiose of answers – to follow in some explorer’s footsteps, that it’d been their childhood dream, that it was a bucket-list destination, that it was the only continent left to check off. Mine? “Well, I was planning to go to Argentina and it turns out Antarctica happens to be close by.” That’s it.
I couldn’t have dreamt of doing it because I never thought civilians could ever do such a thing, and becoming a full-time polar explorer was never one of my ambitions. That said, I’ve since come to learn that the icy continent is in fact one that attracts tens of thousands of tourists every year. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of yearly visitors jumped from around 46,000 to over 120,000. Crazy, right? And crazier still was the fact that I’d be joining their ranks.
Pre-Departure Hassle
I went over the day’s itinerary over and over. After check-in the previous day, we’d been tested for COVID – something I had no idea about, so you can imagine how it would’ve felt being positive and having to stay behind. We were also given a welcome package which included the plan and a whole lot of instructions for the upcoming days. You’d think when you’re paying that much, there’d be less bureaucracy, huh?
The morning before our departure was quite the hectic one. I had to check out of the hotel and drop off my backpack, which would be taken on board by the staff. Then I had to pick up the boarding pass and fill in some pre-departure forms. After that, I scoured Ushuaia for a beanie and a pair of gloves – something I hadn’t quite needed thus far. With a couple of hours to kill, I figured I’d visit a museum or two, but with it being a Sunday, none were open. And so, I just chilled in the hotel lobby – unable to contain my excitement any further.
Whilst waiting around, I started chatting with a few people who would eventually turn out to be my main pals during the trip – Nico, a 35-year-old guy from Germany who’d been to 107 countries; Megan, a pink-haired badass from Connecticut; Clara, one of the funniest and nicest ladies coming all the way from New York; Olivia, an adrenaline junkie from Australia; and a couple from the UK, Steph and Mike. We got on well straight away and started cracking jokes right off the bat, all of us incredulous at the fact that we’d be going to friggin’ Antarctica. It still didn’t make any sense.
We spent the morning chatting and bantering, then headed out for lunch – a distraction from an equal mix of excitement and anxiety that we’d all started to feel at the very thought of getting on the ship that would take us miles and miles away to the frozen middle of nowhere. It felt like one of the many jokes we’d been cracking. Going to Antarctica. Pfft, as if.
PART II
The Little Red Ship
Yet there we were, waiting on the dock to board the magnificent G-Expedition. Perhaps not the biggest or shiniest of ships, but definitely one of the few that allows expeditions in the old-school way, with several landings per day when conditions allow. Small though she might be, this thing of beauty has been in service since 1972, coursing over polar waters swiftly and relentlessly.
The seven-decked, white, red and blue-striped vessel is around 105 metres long, with a 19-metre beam and a draught of roughly 4.7 metres, weighing approximately 6,300 gross tonnes. Powered by four diesel engines producing a combined output of roughly 14,000 horsepower, the ship is built for endurance rather than speed. To top it off, the G-Expedition is equipped with its own waste treatment system and a desalination plant that converts seawater into fresh water on board.
Upon embarking, we swiped our boarding passes and were free to roam. I sped to my cabin, a compact room with two beds, an ensuite, and most importantly, a porthole with a sea view. Here, I’d be spending the next nine nights alongside Dan. Here, I’d come back after each day to ruminate on everything I’d seen and done. Here, I’d be spending as little time as possible in order to enjoy everything Antarctica had to offer.
Enter: The Staff of Dreams
The first PA announcement summoned us to the Expedition Lounge, the place where we’d be spending hours upon hours attending lectures, participating in activities, and just chilling, all while staring out at the endless ocean through panoramic windows.
Here, Jonathan, our expedition leader, gave us a warm welcome and introduced the crew and expedition staff – a panel of experts whose job it would be to give us the full Antarctic experience. Among them were:
- Jonathan Green: A British geology and geography graduate working as a naturalist with the Galapagos National Park Service. A Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, he’s worked across the Galapagos, the Amazon, the Arctic, Antarctica, Central and South America, and Indonesia as a diver and photographer, and has featured on BBC’s Blue Planet II.
- Jenny Waack: A German native who studied business before falling in love with the oceans and remote polar regions during a gap year. When not guiding in Antarctica, she runs shark conservation dive trips in the Galapagos and Cocos Islands as a divemaster, supporting whale shark research and protection.
- Heidi Krajewsky: A Canadian ornithologist who learned to sail at fourteen and worked as a deckhand to put herself through university. She’s a founding director of the Marine Education and Research Society and has contributed to humpback and minke whale research in British Columbia, among many other projects.
- James Smith: A naturalist from Alaska who studied wildlife biology in Svalbard, where his worldview tilted firmly towards the polar regions. His interests lie in ornithology, ecology, and marine biology, and he’s also a mountaineer and skier who believes education through experience is the best form of guiding.
- Matt Burnaby: A Canadian naturalist who, growing up, failed to find much interest in anything other than marine life. He was part of an experimental high school programme that allowed him to study marine biology at university level and has been guiding on board the G-Expedition for over a decade.
- Keith Mountain: Aptly named, this guy is an Australian geologist with a long-standing interest in glacial and polar environments. He’s taken part in more than thirty international expeditions across Antarctica, Greenland, Alaska, Tibet, Peru, and beyond, studying glaciers to better understand past and present climate change.
Jonathan went on to tell us that no matter what we’d read, seen, or heard, nothing could ever prepare us for what lay ahead, and that we’d return as changed people. Inspiring as the speech was, I found myself mostly irritated instead. The very same crowd who’d soon become my fellow expeditioners already annoyed the crap out of me with their peppiness, their over-the-top oohs and aahs, and their exaggerated laughter at every quip. As expected, there were a lot of Americans, and most people were well past a certain age – a silver flood through and through.
Everyone seemed overly cheerful and enthusiastic, and whilst I couldn’t blame them, given that most of them had just started their holiday and we were heading to Antarctica, I hated having random people coming over to me introduce themselves, asking the same questions over and over. I had come here to visit Antarctica not to make friends. Having said that, I already had my group, so any extra connection seemed to be just that – extra. Not to mention that it was honestly overwhelming. After seven months of mostly solo travelling, I felt pretty much like an antisocial recluse, and this was all too much!
Let's Go to Antarctica!
I didn’t have time to dwell on it. The introduction was followed almost immediately by a safety briefing, covering everything from holding handrails in rough seas to donning immersion suits in the event of an emergency. Jonathan made it clear that this wasn’t a cruise but an expedition, and that nature would always be calling the shots.
Next came the lifeboat drill. We returned to our cabins to grab our life jackets before assembling at our designated muster stations, each linked to a lifeboat capable of holding around fifty people which would be used in case of an ‘abandon ship’ emergency. I genuinely didn’t think much of this, considering I’m just about the most average guy I know and that these things don’t happen to people like me. No Titanic-like incidents were likely to occur to me, and if they did, I’d probably die anyways. I took it in stride without fussing too much over it – unlike most of the people in my group who seemed utterly terrified and saw the drill as a premonition.
And with that, we gathered on the fifth deck’s stern side, facing Ushuaia as we readied ourselves to say goodbye. A few words from the captain on the PA and just like that, we had set sail and found ourselves on the way to the dreamed land!
With a few minutes to spare before the next meeting, Nico and I headed to the smoker’s area, and, between one puff and another, neither of us could help but exclaim how unreal it all felt and that it made absolutely no sense whatsoever that we were on the way to Antarctica. When I was a kid, I’d watch documentaries about this icy continent and think of it as this unreachable place full of wonders and mysteries that only intrepid explorers or qualified scientists could get to. Hell, it might’ve all been made up for all I knew back then – that it was all fictional. To be able to go myself one day, even as a kid full of imagination and aspirations, seemed nothing more than an impossible dream. And suddenly, I was on my way to friggin’ Antarctica. It made absolutely no sense whatsoever.
All abuzz, we made our way back to the lounge where Joseph, the residency manager, covered the hospitality side of things before Jonathan returned to outline the voyage plan. His talk was abruptly interrupted by the sight of the majestic gentle giant – a humpback whale in the flesh. We’d barely left shore and we were already spotting wildlife. A good omen, according to the team. They weren’t kidding about us having good ‘whale access’ on this ship! Sitting on the starboard side, I slalomed in between the multitude of sliding chairs to get to the other side, catching a glimpse of its dorsal fin and its fluke before it dove into the depths. Things were off to a strong start!
All Settled In...
Later, we reconvened in the lounge for the Parka Party. Each of us was issued a bright red expedition parka with more features than a Japanese toilet. To this day, I still discover new pockets and zips. Made up of two separate layers, it’s waterproof, warm, and built to withstand Antarctica’s brutal climate. I loved that jacket instantly and named it Roja.
Dinner followed on the fourth deck in the ship’s restaurant, a hotel-style dining room with chairs bolted to the floor, an ominous detail we didn’t think much of at the time. We were served a solid beef steak, allowing me to continue my ongoing steak streak.
As we ate, the reality slowly started sinking in. We were heading to Antarctica. A group of like-minded travellers, many of whom had already ticked off the other six continents, all sharing the same disbelief. For me, with only around twenty countries under my belt, it felt like I was skipping ahead, crossing something off the list far too early. That only made it feel more special.
The day had been short but intense, and I happily turned in early, excited to rest up and make the most of whatever the following days would bring.
Day one:
- Weather:
- Overcast and rainy
- Wind: W 4-6kts
- Wave: Calm
- Temperature: 7°C
- Weather:
- Position: 54°48’S 68°18’W
- Animals seen:
- Magellanic penguin*
- Black-browed albatross
- Sooty shearwater
- Imperial shag
- Dolphin gull
- South American tern
- South American fur seal*
- Humpback whale
- Dusky dolphin*
* Ones I didn’t get to see myself.