The Drake Passage
This body of water lies between the bottom of South America and the Antarctic peninsula. This is one of the most treacherous, dangerous and storied stretches of ocean in the world. The Pacific, the Atlantic and the Southern oceans converge and all the worst weather swirls around down here unimpeded. There are no land masses to temper the effects of wind, currents, waves or storms. I have heard about the dreadful Drake during my time in the program. You leave Punta Arenas and then expect four days of misery while you cross to Palmer station. One person on the vessel told me he thought the hype was overrated. Now and again it can be bad but overall manageable. It also turns out that the vessel does not spend four days in the Drake, more like two and a half.
The storm report was so bad that our departure was delayed by a day. We left the Strait of Magellan on 10-24 and since the weather was still bad, we spent about a day circling around between a little island and a tinier island, waiting in the relative calm for a break before the next storm. The seas were above the operational limit for the vessel, meaning no forward progress allowed. We headed out yesterday morning.
My previous cruise had some pretty big seas, if I remember correctly, 20-25’. There were a couple of times where I was glad to lie down but it was generally OK. My theory as to why I became seasick yesterday, when I hadn’t in my previous cruise is that this time we went from flat seas to giant waves immediately. No time to acclimate. I also didn’t bother with any seasickness remedies, feeling confident in my sea legs. I threw up in the morning, then had a nap after lunch. Now I really know what rough seas are like. Someone who was upright took this picture yesterday.
I tried to go back to work after my nap and lasted for a couple of hours. The upright population was pretty sparse. Since no one was around to notice, and having an approved reason to not be at work, I went back to my room. I was thrown around the galley as I was trying to fill my water bottle, so I called it a safety issue as well. No reason to sit at my desk and feel queasy.
Before we left port, a brand new employee was sure that he was not only ready for this cruise but that he could see going on every cruise from now forward. He had never spent time on oceangoing vessels. People understandably get very excited about their first Antarctic job. Never having set foot on the continent (or vessel) or spent a day in the Antarctic program, they proclaim they will never leave. I pointed out that he had spent one day on a boat in port, a bit early to choose a new life course. There was a little bit of discussion on how hard it is lately to get competent employees and new guy asked what would prevent him from continuing on. Another fellow bluntly said – seasickness. If you can’t adjust you will be miserable forever and even though the job might be great, most people don’t choose continuing physical misery. Guess who was laid flat at the first sign of waves? Yes, our brand new guy.