Days 15 and 16- two more days at sea with gloomy skies.

At least that is what we expected. The expedition team was to launch a weather balloon on Day 15, but it was too windy so they had to postpone until today – Day 16. The crew of Octantis knows how to turn any small event into a party. They served hot chocolate for the launch.

When the balloon was launched, it very quickly rose and disappeared into the clouds. Not to worry, every piece of the balloon and the radio are biodegradable.

We were also pleasantly surprised today when the captain announced that we would be stopping in front of Elephant Island, which is in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands just off the coast of Antarctica. The ship was stopped for 30 minutes so we could take pictures of the place where 22 men of Ernest Shackleton’s ill-fated trip on Endurance hid out for 3.5 months before they were rescued. The Elephant Island sighting was accompanied by mulled wine.

This picture shows the spot where they “camped.” It is to the left of the little pyramid rock.

There also was a group of petrels that hung around the ship while were were stopped.

Once the ship started to move, they took off to find food…at least that’s what I think they were doing.

So, what do we do with the rest of our time while at sea – you ask. Well, there are all kinds of lectures we can sit in on…today we had a lecture by the captain on various aspects of the ship and what makes it able to traverse the Southern Ocean, including the Drake Passage. It also is used on a Great Lakes tour and I guess it was built especially to fit in one of the locks on the St Lawrence seaway – as there is clearance of only 1.45 feet on each side of the ship. It is amazing to me that the ship doesn’t bang the side of the lock – talk about good driving skills!