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Friday,
1 November - The ship sailed from Berth 500 in Cape
Town harbour at 15h30, after a short delay to try to convince
immigration officials to allow a passenger aboard who had
lost his passport two days previously. The ship left harbour
pushed along by a stiff blow from the 'Cape doctor' (the south-east
wind), and accompanied by a small pod of Dusky Dolphins. Passengers
spent the afternoon unpacking and familiarising themselves
with the layout of the ship. Birding highlights included the
usual coastal birds (African Penguins, Cape Gannets, Cape
Cormorants, Swift Terns) as well as Sabine's Gulls, Arctic
Skuas and the first true pelagics (Shy and Yellow-nosed Albatrosses,
White-chinned Petrels, Sooty Shearwaters). Dusk found us rounding
Cape Point on a lovely calm evening.
Saturday, 2 November -Dawn
broke 38 miles south of Cape Agulhas, still in the shallow
coastal waters of the Agulhas Bank. The coastal nature of
the waters was given away by the continued presence of Cape
Gannets around the ship, but there were several new species
including Black-browed Albatrosses, Northern Giant Petrels,
Pintado (Cape) Petrels, Great Shearwaters, and Subantarctic
and Pomarine Skuas. A surprise was a couple of Southern Fulmars
well north of their usual range, greeted with joy by many
of the southern African regional listers aboard. Other highlights
were groups of Risso's Dolphins and Humpbacked Whales. The
morning birding was interrupted by a life-boat drill, which
saw everyone mustering promptly (most were already on deck
with their life jackets and cold weather clothing well in
advance of the drill) and filing safely into and out of the
lifeboats.
Shortly after noon we started to drop off the edge of the
continental shelf, and made a slight detour to pass close
by a trawler fishing for hake. Here the dominant albatross
was Indian Yellow-nosed, but there was a smattering of Atlantic
Yellow-noseds too, as well as Southern Giant Petrels, a single
Great-winged Petrel, and Wilson's and Black-bellied Storm
Petrels. We caused a stir on the bridge by stopping the ship
to investigate a dark-headed albatross that was probably a
young Salvin's Albatross. Rodney Cassidy was especially pleased
to see a couple of Manx Shearwaters, which were a long-standing
bogey bird for him. After leaving the shelf edge, we entered
the warm water of the Agulhas Current. The numbers of birds
dropped off, but there were numerous Great-winged Petrels,
one Long-tailed Skua as well as Sperm and Southern Bottle-nosed
Whales and large numbers of sunfish and flying fish.
Sunday, 3 November - At
dawn we were already 400 miles from Cape Town, but still had
760 miles to go to the Prince Edward Islands. Having crossed
the Agulhas Current, we were steaming through the large area
of mixed water between the Agulhas and the Return Agulhas
Current, which forms the northern border of the Subtropical
Front south of Africa. Here we had our first Wandering Albatrosses
and Little Shearwaters. The early risers were rewarded with
the first White-headed Petrel, and a little later a Grey Petrel
joined the wake for a while. After breakfast, a very obliging
Antarctic Prion visited the stern, allowing everyone to start
to get to grips with this complex group. Later in the day
we added Salvin's Prion to the list, although this required
some digital wizardry to confirm the identification. Another
first for the day was a Sooty Albatross, numerous Soft-plumaged
Petrels, and the late afternoon yielded more White-headed
Petrels for those who missed the early morning showing.
Monday, 4 November - Our
first Southern Ocean gale, surprisingly from the south-east
(not the prevailing westerlies that would be expected in these
waters), slowed us to a paltry 6 knots. The wind, gusting
up to 50 knots, soon generated towering swells, sending water
crashing over the main deck and confined most birders to the
hanger, their bunks, or enjoying the spectacular, if daunting,
view from the bridge. The bird highlight was an adult Southern
Royal Albatross that joined the ship in the late afternoon,
along with the more numerous Wanderers.
Tuesday, 5 November -
The morning found us still beating into a strong south-east
headwind, but the wind moderated through the day, and by evening
we were getting up to 10 knots. However, the damage had been
done, and our arrival off Marion had moved back from early
to late Wednesday. New birds for the day included Grey-headed
Albatrosses, Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses, Blue Petrels
and a single, distant Kerguelen Petrel. The hardened bunch
on the monkey island reported an Antarctic Fur Seal and several
Sub-antarctic Fur Seals. Late afternoon also saw a few diving
petrels, sparking a long-standing debate on the field identification
of these notoriously tricky birds. 5 November is an auspicious
day: Guy Fawkes, the day when the Great Shearwaters return
to Gough to lay their eggs and, as Baz Watkins reminded us,
Lester Piggott's birthday. It's also Sue John's birthday,
and she was surprised by a brace of huge cream-cakes in the
lounge after dinner. This sparked the first real evidence
of party spirit amongst the passengers - up until then it
was only the five guides and the barman in the pub each evening…
Wednesday, 6 November
- The day started superbly, with sunny skies and a following
breeze pushing us towards the islands. The photographers had
a field day, with very obliging Wandering, Grey-headed, Indian
Yellow-nosed, Sooty and Light-mantled albatrosses in the wake.
Up at the bow, Fairy Prions were making a regular appearance
among the more abundant Salvin's, and there were also several
diving petrels and some rather elusive Grey-backed Storm Petrels.
The weather gradually deteriorated through the morning, and
by the afternoon it was wet and wild, with a gale-force north-wester
chasing us along. Most people spent the afternoon watching
a Grey-backed Storm Petrel criss-cross the wake from the shelter
of the hanger. Captain Tate pushed the pace to get us to Marion
in daylight to see if we could offload Wilna Wilkinson and
the supplies for the base, but when we finally arrived we
were greeted by gusting northerly willy-waws, so we steamed
off round East Cape into the limited lee off Bullard Beach.
The islands were shrouded in low cloud, and Marion only appeared
from the murk when we were right off the base. A few King
Penguins and Crozet Shags were seen next to the ship, and
there were distant views of the other penguins and sheathbills
along the shore. At the evening meeting, we planned to steam
overnight to be off Prince Edward at first light, and do some
spotlighting there, given the much greater densities of burrow-nesting
seabirds. However, thanks to a thoughful intervention by Neil
Bostock, this was promptly changed to keep us at Marion overnight,
given the greater chances of getting the Kerguelen Tern in
the sheltered bays off the eastern coast of the island. We
thus spent a pleasant night gently steaming up and down in
the lee off the coast between East Cape and Kildalkey.
Thursday, 7 November -
Birding began with first light at 3h30. It was damp, with
intermittent rain, but at least the wind has dropped. We steamed
around East Cape and proceeded to work slowly along the shoreline
between Archway King Penguin colony and the base. Almost immediately
we were treated to a large pod of Killer Whales moving sedately
through the calm water. Given the clarity of the water, they
were easily visibly even when underwater, and caused great
excitement when one surfaced metres from the helideck. On
the other side of the ship, all scopes were trained on the
shore, where tolerable views were obtained of the four penguin
species, Lesser Sheathbills and Southern Elephant Seals. We
also had increasingly good views of Kerguelen Terns feeding
on the Macrocystis kelp beds that fringe the island, culminating
in several birds within 50 m of the ship. There were also
good looks at Crozet Shags (some of which appeared keen to
land on the ship) and Kelp Gulls feeding among the Macrocystis,
as well as good looks at King and Gentoo Penguins in the water
next to the ship. There were also many diving petrels right
next to the ship - mostly very dark birds feeding close inshore
that were almost certainly Commons. Chief Officer Dave Hall
was extremely patient in steering us backwards and forwards
along this stretch of coast, allowing the best possible views
given the constraint of not being allowed ashore.
At 8h00, we stationed off the base to offload Wilna and her
equipment. By this stage, the wind had returned, and the small
boat operations were conducted in less than ideal conditions.
However, by 9h30 everything was transferred, and we steamed
for Prince Edward, 20 km to the north. Arriving off Cave Bay,
Captain Kevin Tate expertly backed the ship into the bay to
allow us sheltered viewing from the hanger of the Macaroni
and Rockhopper Penguin colonies on RSA Point, as well as more
distant views of young Sub-antarctic Fur Seals frolicking
on the grassy slopes of the bay. As we were leaving Cave Bay
to circumnavigate Prince Edward, three Antarctic Terns flew
past, but didn't linger. We headed counter-clockwise around
the north side of the island, pausing off Albatross Valley,
where more than 10 000 pairs of albatrosses of five species
breed, including the highest density of Wandering Albatrosses
in the world. In November, the cliff-side galleries of mollymawks
and sooty albatrosses were packed with birds, but the flats
where the Wanderers breed were less impressive, because they
were mostly populated by large chicks, whose dark plumage
was hard to spot against the vegetation in the grey, overcast
conditions.
While at station off Albatross Valley, we had large numbers
of birds around the ship, including some nice Grey-backed
Storm Petrels. Accordingly, the decision was made to chum
there, in the relative shelter of the island. This wasn't
as successful as it might have been, because of the large
numbers of giant petrels that were attracted to the ship and
displaced most other birds. However, we did have more excellent
views of the storm petrel, and shortly afterwards had another
group of Killer Whales, one of which breached completely out
of the water. The low cloud base obscured the tops of Ross
Rocks and Ship Rock, the two main stacks off the north-west
of Prince Edward, but they were impressive nonetheless and
created a dramatic scene with Wandering Albatrosses drifting
past their stark outlines. Heading on round the western point
of the island the ship rolled heavily as it turned across
the swell, tossing passengers around the helideck in an alarming
fashion; fortunately no-one was seriously hurt. Due to the
large swell, we had to tack on our return to Marion, but still
arrived off the east coast in good time to visit Kildalkey,
the largest penguin colony on the island. Here almost a million
King and Macaroni Penguins breed on the slopes of Green Hill,
and a line of scopes was accordingly stretched across the
helideck. Adjacent to the colony we also saw several nice
bull Sub-antarctic Fur Seals, and there were a few obliging
groups of Macaroni Penguins in the water next to the ship.
We steamed away from the island at 17h30, with only a few
people staying on deck to watch the sheer cliffs of Crawford
Bay disappear into the murk. The weather hadn't been ideal,
but overall we were lucky to have exploited the early morning
break in the wind, and on balance we did well and saw all
the target birds.
Friday, 8 November - This
morning found us steaming through cold water 100 miles south-west
of Marion Island, en route for the nearest pack-ice at around
54S 25E. With the islands behind us, much time was spent poring
over the satellite ice-images, and plotting the best strategy.
We were now embarking on the unknown part of the trip - no-one
had any idea what birds we would find when we reached the
ice, adding to the sense of excitement. Meanwhile on deck
there was relatively little new to report. The density of
birds was considerably lower that that found north of the
islands, with Southern Fulmars, White-headed and Blue Petrels,
and a mix of Salvin's, Antarctic and Fairy Prions predominating.
The following flock comprised Grey-headed and Light-mantled
Sooty Albatrosses, as well as a few die-hard White-chinned
Petrels. Some excitement was provided by increasing numbers
of Kerguelen Petrels, as well as many tantalising diving petrels
that showed some of the purported characters of South Georgians
(whiter underwings, paler faces and breasts, and on a few
birds, pale tips to the scapulars). The monkey islanders also
reported another Southern Bottle-nosed Whale. But the real
highlight was the sighting of the first ice-berg at 15h12
(although not everyone bothered to go look at it!) This resulted
in Eddie Slack winning the ice-berg sweepstake, and he very
generously donated his winnings to further support albatross
conservation. Part of the proceeds will go to BirdLife's seabird
conservation campaign, and part to sponsor a Wandering Albatross
in the long-term tracking study being conducted on Marion
Island. By evening, the wind was getting up, and the ship's
speed was dropping…
Saturday, 9 November -
A black day on the trip. The ship was struggling into gale
force headwinds, making very little headway. Despondency ruled.
Would we reach the pack-ice? Should we give up and head for
Cape Town? This pessimism wasn't helped by the sea temperature
increasing to over 6C, suggesting that we'd re-crossed the
Antarctic Polar Front. The birds also had little to offer,
with merely a subset of the previous day's offerings. Only
the large number of Kerguelen Petrels offered the slimmest
glimmers of joy…
Sunday, 10 November -
Mercifully, the wind dropped overnight, and we started to
make good speed. The ice looked possible again, and spirits
lifted. The early risers were rewarded with a stunning Antarctic
Petrel shortly after 6h30, which made for an amusing breakfast.
Later in the morning we had some nice Slender-billed Prions
and a stunning white-phase Southern Giant Petrel. Finally,
just before lunch, a second Antarctic Petrel put in an appearance,
bringing relief to the many early morning dippers. During
the afternoon, a couple of huge ice-bergs appeared on the
horizon, with one dead ahead. It looked fairly close, but
the radar told a different story - it was actually 19 miles
away! As we approached it, we started to encounter small groups
of Chinstrap Penguins, and then when it was only a few miles
off the first Snow Petrels of the trip appeared like ethereal
ghosts over the stern. We duly reached the berg - a stunning
400 m-long, 80-m high edifice with some 1200 Chinstrap Penguins
roosting along its lower flanks, and hundreds more in the
water around the berg. Drifting just off the berg, with Snow
and Antarctic Petrels soaring overhead and curious Chinstrap
Penguins approaching the vessel to investigate this strange
red object in their monochrome world will surely be a lasting
memory for all of us [53 53S, 25 36E]. After a largely euphoric
supper, we steamed on towards the pack ice, and shortly before
20h00, in the gentle evening light, hit the first band of
drift ice.
Monday, 11 November -
A magical, still morning awaited those brave souls that rose
before 3h00 to find the ship steaming through bands of drift
ice interspersed by smoky patches of semi-frozen, glassy sea.
With only a glimmer of a golden dawn on the south-eastern
horizon, the ship's path was illuminated by its forward spotlight,
which cast a warm glow over the otherwise frigid landscape.
Such poetic thoughts were lost on my cabin mates. When I told
them I had never seen anything like it, I was brusquely advised
to get out more! Heathens aside, by 4h00 the deck was crowded
with people who seemed largely indifferent to the -4C temperature.
Everyone was scanning the floes for an XXL penguin among the
many Chinstraps. Bird diversity was low, but the quality was
high, with large numbers of Snow and Antarctic Petrels, smaller
numbers of Arctic Terns and a single Southern Giant Petrel
that stayed with the ship on and off throughout the day.
As we continued south-west, the ice got thicker, and patches
of open water less common. With nothing new to report in more
than three hours steaming, there was the usual stampede for
early breakfast. As a result, the decks were nearly deserted
when Peter Kaestner came slipping and sliding from the bow
all the way to the helideck to report a possible 'large penguin'
standing on a distant ice floe. Ian and I had a quick look,
and immediately recognised the unforgettable, portly posture
of an Emperor. There were some loud shouts of joy (which may
have contributed to its taking to the water), then Ian ran
for the saloon while I headed for the bridge. Consequently
I missed the fun of seeing 60 people trampling stewards in
their haste to get back on deck. When we finally went down
for breakfast it was like a scene from the Marie Celeste,
with half-eaten meals abandoned on the tables.
It took a few minutes, but eventually the beast re-appeared,
feeding in a patch of open water. The captain expertly manoeuvred
us to a point from which everyone could get good looks. It
was a young bird, and appeared to be taking numerous small
prey (possibly krill) from the water surface - hardly an impressive
display from the avian world's greatest diving machine, but
interesting nonetheless. It would occasionally make a surging
dive, only to re-surface within 20-30 m. At once stage it
came up within 50 m of the ship's bridge. Finally, after showing
well for more than 10 minutes, it dived and didn't re-appear.
With the pressure off, we had some fun pushing a group of
hapless Chinstraps off their growler, and enjoyed an amorous
pair of Crabeater Seals. There were also several sightings
of Minke Whales, including one very obliging Antarctic Minke
that swam slowly along the port side of the ship, clearly
visible through the calm water. Heading still further into
the thick pack, we encountered a few Adelie Penguins, including
one obliging pair of immature birds that allowed very close
approach by the ship. They did look a little disconcerted,
however, when the ship made a tight circuit right around them.
Lunch was taken on the helideck, and while nibbling on a delicious
curry pie the unmistakable, sinuous shape of a Leopard Seal
was spotted on a nearby floe. This proved to be the last sighting
of the day, and with the weather closing in we steamed west
through the ice before having an unforgettable celebratory
braai (barbeque to the uninitiated) in the snow and ice, with
Snow and Antarctic Petrels overhead.
Tuesday, 12 November -
Having cleaned up in the ice, we steamed north at midnight,
and dawn found us back in Antarctic water, beating into another
gale-force headwind. The winds peaked at around 60 knots during
the middle of the day, slowing our progress to a crawl. As
the wind backed into the west during the evening, the large
swell obliged us to follow, causing some passengers to think
we were off to South America. Most people spent a relaxing
day recuperating from last night's party, but a few hardy
monkey islanders were rewarded with a fine Fin Whale and a
Strap-toothed Whale well south of its known range. The evening
was enlivened by Chris Lodge's birthday cake and celebrations.
Wednesday, 13 November
- The wind started to moderate, and our ETA Cape Town shot
back from Sunday 24th to our target of Sunday 17th. Another
fairly quiet day, with most people relaxing in the lounge,
sleeping, or spending the odd hour on deck. No new birds were
seen, and even the cetacean spotters went unrewarded.
Thursday, 14 November
- Cracking along, all looked set for a speedy return to Cape
Town. We crossed the Antarctic Polar Front during the day,
but with little noticeable effect on the birds. If anything,
bird numbers appeared to be lower here than farther east;
only the numbers of Black-browed Albatrosses were up. The
afternoon was enlivened by some robust debate about an immature
Royal Albatross which obligingly stayed with the ship for
several hours. Despite contradictory claims as to whether
it had a black cutting edge to the bill, this was later confirmed
thanks to the wonders of Angus Wilson's digital camera and
Dick Newell's laptop. The consensus was that it was a young
Southern Royal, due to its white marks on the elbow, strong
white leading edge to the wing and limited carpal patch on
the underwing (which didn't reach the wrist). However, this
was swept aside by a late Atlantic Petrel, which whipped past
the ship shortly before supper. At nearly 46S this was well
outside its usual range. The evening lecture was replaced
by a fun quiz (enjoyed perhaps more by the quiz master than
the participants) - congratulations to 'The Enlisters' for
pipping several more fancied teams to the post - although
this English Nature team probably had more than a bit of help
from their South African ringer, Paul Funston.
Friday, 15 November -
Another crazy day. Yet another front brought gale force north-westerlies
to slow our progress, causing the captain to amend our ETA
to early Monday morning. This triggered a frenzy of air ticket
re-arrangements, communicating by satellite phone with the
Birding Africa office back in Cape Town. The weather slowly
improved through the day, with the first really pleasant temperatures
on deck since before Marion Island, although the sea temperature
remained around 11C. The birds remained a mix of sub-Antarctic
and south temperate species, with the first Shy Albatross,
Great-winged Petrels and Great Shearwater for many days sharing
airspace with reasonable numbers of Grey-headed Albatrosses
and Blue Petrels. Last gasp birds included a Kerguelen Petrel
and a single diving petrel. Yesterday's Southern Royal Albatross
remained around, and was joined in the wake by some very obliging
Grey Petrels. Atlantic Petrel fever was in the air, with numerous
scares through the day, culminating in a convincing dark-morph
Long-tailed Skua which looked the part (other than its gull-like
flight) as it approached the ship from the stern. John Gale
added to the fun by painting a cardboard cut-out Atlantic
which was 'flown' across the back of the helideck on a stick
from the poop deck below. The only entirely new bird for the
day was a single Red (Grey) Phalarope seen from the monkey
island.
In the evening, we had the trip awards ceremony for outstanding
achievement aboard ship. The winners were:
- Table tennis champion - John Gregory
- Darts champion (most improved beginner) - Teta Kain
- Board game champion - Howard Rayner
- Best cabin spirit - Cabin 13, the dysfunctional family (Pete
Fraser, Elaine Cook, Chris Lodge and Giselle Murison).
- Bad hair day - John Wells
- Best dressed bank robber - Frank Lambert
- Extremities most in need of protection - Rodney Cassidy
- Luckiest lips - Lyn Mair
- Largest bar bill - Hugh Buck
- Best dressed for dinner - Maureen Pelecier
- Worst dressed for dinner - Duncan Macdonald
- Most spectacular fall - Neil Bostock (with honourable mentions
to Janet Warwick, John Gale and Dick Newell)
- Best sighting - Peter Kaestner for the Emperor Penguin
- Most single-minded passenger - Dick Newell
- Hi-tech contribution to the trip - Angus Wilson
- Most time on deck - Chris Collins
- Best talk - John Gale
We also gave a small token of appreciation to the captain
and officers of the ship, and then adjourned to the bar to
celebrate Graeme Wallace (today) and Mick Fiszer's (tomorrow)
birthdays with cake and a few (too many?) drinks.
Saturday, 16 November
- Overnight we crossed the Subtropical Front in two large
jumps - from 11-15C at 20h00 and from 15-20C at 5h00. Both
fronts were crossed in the dark, so we couldn't tell whether
they supported large aggregations of birds. Today was spent
in warm water (20-22C), with relatively small numbers of birds.
Undoubtedly the highlight of the day was the regular passage
of Atlantic Petrels during the morning, with at least 10 sightings
between 6h30 and noon. How many birds were involved is not
entirely clear, but it appeared to be several individuals,
suggesting that they may be more common this far east than
was thought previously. Other interesting birds this far north
were a single Grey Petrel early on, reasonable numbers of
Sooty Albatrosses and a few White-headed Petrels. After lunch,
the temperature rose to 22C, with a few flying fish around,
and hopes were high for a White-bellied Storm Petrel or two,
but the numerous Fregatta petrels seen were all Black-bellieds.
We also finally turned north-east after drifting steadily
west of Cape Town for several days. With the gale force SSW
wind now on the port beam the speed shot up, raising the possibility
of arriving late Sunday. However, this came at the cost of
some more large rolls. In the evening Brian Leyds and his
merry men laid on a sumptuous land-fall meal, surpassing the
usual Saturday evening fare of steak and ice-cream...
Sunday, 17 November -
Daylight found us back in the South African EEZ, and thus
there was a large turn out of SA listers wanting to bag a
few deep-water species for their lists. This was made more
attractive by the calm, sunny weather. Bird numbers were initially
low in the oceanic water some 120 miles SSW of Cape Point,
with Great-winged Petrels predominating. Flocks of up to 25
birds rested on the glassy sea, or glided past languidly -
a far cry from our usual experience of these gadfly petrels
in the windier conditions that prevailed throughout most of
the trip. They were joined by small numbers of Leach's and
Black-bellied Storm Petrels, with the former apparently having
recently arrived from the northern hemisphere (they were in
moult, and thus unlikely to be from the small local breeding
population). Other interesting species in the deep water were
a couple of Long-tailed Skuas, a flock of phalaropes (presumably
Red) and a couple of whales (Dwarf Minke and Humpbacked).
Lunch was served in the helihanger as we approached the continental
shelf. We deviated slightly east to run over the Cape Point
Hole, a deep canyon that runs into the shelf edge where there
are usually several fishing vessels to be found (and the area
usually targeted by one-day pelagic trips out of Simonstown
- for more information about these trips, visit www.capetownpelagics.com).
Here we passed through a fleet of hake longliners and tuna
pole boats, with a hake trawler on the horizon. Bird numbers
increased dramatically, with reasonable numbers of Black-browed
and Shy Albatrosses, White-chinned Petrels, Great and Cory's
Shearwaters, plus several other less common species and coastal
species such as Cape Gannets and Kelp Gulls. We then headed
inshore to Kommetjie and the distinctive Slangkop lighthouse,
picking up more coastal birds (e.g. African Penguin, Cape
Cormorant, Swift Tern), including the first Sandwich Terns
of the trip. From Kommetjie we cruised inshore along the scenic
peninsula west coast en route to Cape Town, enjoying superb
views of the Cape mountains. Those not packing were rewarded
with some excellent Humpbacked Whales off Chapman's Peak,
as well as small pods of Common and Dusky Dolphins and large
flocks of Sabine's Gulls. We reached the harbour at 17h30,
joined by a Speckled Pigeon. We docked at 18h00, 6 hours behind
schedule but still with enough time for those rash individuals
who had booked evening flights to get to the airport.
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