Rolling on the Deep Blue Sea

Coordinates:
Lat: 5244.86225226 S
Lon: 04645.82123479 W

A full day out at sea today (Friday) and for tomorrow. We're making our way
East/Southeast on a course on the North Scotia Sea along the North Scotia
Ridge, heading for South Georgia Island. To be out in the middle of the deep
blue sea is mysterious, tranquil, and mesmerizing all at the same time. It
really is a humbling experience. With no land for hundreds and hundreds of
miles, the sea swells are huge (over 7 meters) and we're traveling at about 14
knots. The horizon is endless, with Albatross, Petrels, Shearwaters and
Prions all following the ship. I was able to chat with the Captain today
(Ukrainian), tho' my Russian is weak; A lot of smiling and pointing.

Amazing that when we left Ushuaia and the seas were mildly rough, and
wearing the patch, I felt queasy and blah. Now in the deep ocean, with high
seas, rocking and rolling and incredible swells, with no patch, I'm
absolutely fine. Go figure. I checked out my photos in the MacLab, they're
terrific! To be posted in the future.

The days have been filled with fascinating lecture series/discussions, happy
hours(!), catnaps, and on deck sightings of birds and mammals both great
and small. The ship (Academic Ioffe) is a research vessel that is used in
the Arctic and Antarctic for folks like me for 8 months of the year, then
Oceanographic research for the other 4 months. Kaliningrad, Russia is the
mother port of call. 17 countries are represented on the ship, with an outstanding Ukrainian Crew and an incredible Canadian/American/British/Aussie staff that is terrific. Anticipation is definitely building as we get ever so closer to South Georgia Island in a few days!