A Whale of a Day!

11 January 2010 En Route to South Georgia

Early morning found us surrounded by whales in all directions off the
bow. The first of 59 Fin Whales made a pass only 30 feet off the bow.
This was immediately followed by 2 Sei Whales which followed our joyful
ship at the 10 o'clock position for about 5 minutes. Hourglass Dolphins
rode the bow. More Fin Whales appeared. Our very keen Captain slowed the
ship, and cameras shot off in rapid fire. V-shaped blows were spotted
off the bow. Again, our Captain carefully navigated our ship, providing
excellent views and photo opportunities for us with four Southern Right
Whales! Many folks on board were especially anxious to see this
particular species of whale. A few more Hourglass Dolphins cruised by.
Finally, six Southern Bottlenose Whales were spied. They never
approached the ship, but due to the extremely calm seas, all on board
were afforded good views of this toothed whale. It was one incredible
day for whales-- and, perfect timing since we had had our cetacean
lecture only yesterday.

Seas continued to remain remarkably flat, without any whitecaps
whatsoever. The sea surface temperature dropped from 10 degrees C at the
Falkland Islands to 6 degrees C, and finally to 4 degrees C, after
crossing the Antarctic Convergence, or Polar Front, today. This brought
a major influx of Antarctic Prions. A few King Penguins were seen
swimming at sea, and more Gray-headed Albatrosses were spotted today.

We continued our on board lectures, with Don Doolittle presenting an
informative talk about Ice; John Sterling on Albatross Natural History,
and Debra Shearwater on an overview of South Georgia's magnificent
wildlife.

Very early tomorrow morning, we hope to spot Shag Rocks, the smallest
sub-Antarctic islands.

Our total cetacean counts for 11 January 2010 were:
SOUTHERN RIGHT WHALE- 4
SOUTHERN FIN WHALE- 59
SOUTHERN SEI WHALE- 3
SOUTHERN BOTTLENOSE WHALE- 6
HOURGLASS DOLPHIN- 27

Albatrosses forever,
Debra Shearwater