Sea Legless

Land-ward Bound, The Drake Passage (* occured on 2/19 *)

Sometime in the night – My body has repositioned itself involuntarily to the foot of the bed, then back to the head of the bed. A loud crash, creaking, and the tumbling & rolling of something. It feels like I’m strapped to a sea-saw, up & down.

Sometime in the day - Toilet paper has managed to escape the bathroom and create a lane down the corridor of the room.

Sometime at lunch - a gentleman’s glass knocks over, ice tea splashes on the floor. Plates slide back and forth. The view from the windows on starboard and port side alternate; sky-and-sea, sea-and-sky. Sitting across from the Expedition Leader and her husband, they talk about their passion for the job, how every trip is different, how they never get tired of doing this, and how they miss their dog. They sway with the rocking of the boat as though it were a good song. When asked on a scale of 1-10 what this Drake crossing would rank -- seven. When asked what would be considered a ten -- ocean swells forty-five feet and up.



Sidebar: It's been resolved. The Clipper was assigned to the task; no harm was inflicted on the passengers or the environment. On 2/17, we received word that due to weather conditions and high winds one of Quark's ships, the Ocean Nova, had ran aground at position 68° 08’ S, 67°06’ W, in Marguerite Bay, west of Debenham Island. The staff made an announcement that if the Ocean Nova was unable to return to sea, then either the Clipper (another of Quark's fleet) or our ship would sail to to the point of damage to assist with the disembarkation of its passengers.