Oct 31
31 October, 2025 After an overnight stay in Ushuaia at the Albatros Hotel, we made our way down the port dock to board Le Commandant Charcot. We were greeted by the Science Officer, Gwen Trividic, who got us checked into our room and showed us around the science labs onboard. At the discretion of Captain Stanislas Devorsine, we departed a couple of hours early to beat a low-pressure system rolling in. At 5:30pm ropes were up and we were on our way through the Beagle Channel, one of the few navigable routes that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Leaving early proved very insightful as we had beautiful weather throughout the evening and avoided high winds and large swells. During our transit through the channel, we were greeted by a beautiful rainbow visible from the observatory lounge. We hoped that was a positive sign for the adventures ahead of us. Due to the complexity and focused nature of navigating out of the port and through the channel, we were not able to access the bridge to begin surveys. We instead became acquainted with the science officer and the vessel by attending mandatory safety meetings and sharing dinner with Gwen. The boat rocked us gently to sleep through the 3-5m swells as we passed Cape Horn and entered the Southern Ocean overnight. We looked forward to beginning data collection the next morning!
Nov 1
1 November, 2025 We woke up early to the more than gentle rock of the ship near the middle of the Southern Ocean. We were eager to start our first transect survey from the bridge of the vessel before attending the required Antarctic regulations briefing. Despite being four hours ahead of our time zone back home, we were well rested and ready to see what marine mammals and seabirds we would see. We saw several blue petrels, black-browed albatross, kelp gulls, and many cape petrels (a new favorite of ours with their distinct black and white patterns), but we didn’t see any whales, dolphins, or pinnipeds, to our dismay. Ironically enough, during a short break and visit to the gym, MariAnna spotted a brief sighting of a blue whale diving very close to the ship and that evening a naturalist informed us she had seen a beaked whale earlier that day.
In the afternoon we met with the expedition guides who will coordinate future science talks and guest engagement sessions with excursions and relevant activities the guests will participate in. We had several meetings, briefings, and changes of schedules as the itinerary fluctuated with the ever-changing weather system rolling in. We made time to do a few hours of observations while settling into the routine aboard the vessel. Knowing we were likely going out on the zodiac for hydrophone recording the next day, we worked on prepping equipment and protocols to best utilize our shared time and use of the zodiac with a glaciologist, Caroline Needell, from Woods Hole Institute of Oceanography.
Included in the daily program that is given to all guests, our biographies with our photos were inserted (to our pleasant surprise), so we had several cruise guests approach us and ask us about our work or to help identify bird photos they took from their balcony. We also had the delight of attending the Welcome Gala, hosted by Captain Devorsine, where we met the crew and guests onboard.
Photo: MariAnna Hinojosa
