Cruising the Drake Passage

            Monday, 1 Jan 2024 – The Drake Passage is a deep waterway, 600 miles wide, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans between Cape Horn (the southernmost point of south America) and the South Shetland Islands, situated about 100 miles north of the Antarctic Peninsula.  Though bearing the name of the famous English seaman and global circumnavigator Sir Francis Drake, the passage was first traversed in 1616 by a Flemish expedition led by Williem Schouten.  The Drake Passage played an important part in the trade of the 19th and early 20th centuries before the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914.  The stormy seas and icy conditions made the rounding of Cape Horn through the Drake Passage a rigorous test for ships and crews alike, especially for the sailing vessels of the day.  The passage has an average depth of about 11,000 feet with deeper regions of up to 15,700 feet near the northern and southern boundaries.

We went to breakfast in the Terrace Café at about 8:40 AM, almost an hour earlier than usual.  (Jesse had set an alarm for 9:00 PM, but Sally woke up before the alarm went off.)  The ship was doing a lot of rocking, which made walking difficult.  One of the crew helped Sally take her plates from the buffet to her seat.  After breakfast, Sally tried napping, and was a much more successful this time.

The ship’s captain made several announcements, such as sightings of an iceberg and sea lions (or walruses) on the port side of the ship.  He also announced when we had made it across Drake Passage.

Sally spent the afternoon reading, while Jesse watched TV and worked on his laptop.  He has not been able to download or send e-mails or text messages since the day before New Year’s Eve.  We had a similar problem at Christmas due to heavy Wi-Fi usage by the ship’s passengers.

Before dinner, we went to the Horizons, where the 4 Corners were performing.  We tried dancing, but the sea was much too rough, so we sat and listened to the music.  As usual, we went to the Terrace Café for dinner.  Maribeth was not working in the area where she had been assigned previously.  Afterwards, we learned that she had been moved to the other side of the dining room.