Back at sea

12 March 2025

Back at sea

After leaving the shores of South Georgia behind, we soon lost sight of the island completely, as we sailed into a thick bank of fog. However, just half an hour later, the fog lifted, and the sun briefly illuminated the mountaintops one last time before we sailed out of view. Our goodbye from the island was accompanied by whales blowing off to our portside and a few penguins leaping through the waves beside us.

After a rather windless night, with a lot of rolling due to the swells hitting us as soon as we left the island’s lee, we were relieved to feel the wind pick up the next morning. With the sails up and the swell decreasing a little, sailing became more comfortable again. We all settled back into the rhythm of the sea and the watches, both day and night. As we continue our journey northward, we’re all looking forward to the temperatures rising, hopefully very soon. The first two nights back at sea reminded us that we are still quite close to the cold waters of Antarctica. The chilly nights, with temperatures of 2 degrees and winds that feel much colder, make us long for extra layers of clothing or some sailing action to keep warm.

One thing that keeps the sailing exciting is the ice! You might think that being this far from the frozen continent, there would be no icebergs, but our ice charts tell a different story. We’ve adjusted our course to avoid a massive ice field to the north, which will take us a longer distance but through less challenging waters. Nevertheless, lookout duties remain a top priority. Even outside of the predicted ice zones, we’ve encountered a few massive icebergs in the open ocean. One we passed this morning was so large that we could spot it with the naked eye from 13 miles away!

Tonight, the wind is forecasted to increase up to 30 knots, so we started preparing in the afternoon. The sails were reefed, the topsail and jib furled, and our speed was reduced to help us navigate comfortably through the night and stronger winds.