Day 17 - At sea passing Shag Rocks

We passed Shag Rocks, a group of 6 rocks at 7.00 am where the ship stopped briefly.  The tallest is 75m and they are considered to be on the extreme of South Georgia.  They are home to around 1000 Blue Eyed Shags.

Shag Rocks
Blue Eyed Shag at Shag Rocks

White chinned Petrel (id by Rob, our Ornithologist)


At this point we leave South Georgia territory and continue towards the Falklands.


Goodbye South Georgia

After breakfast there was a lecture on Seals (pinnipeds) in the Southern Oceans.  I think I might have misidentified some of the Antarctic Seals in earlier posts as we clearly saw Crabeater Seals as well as Leopard Seals.

After lunch we went to another talk on the History of South Georgia Maps since the first map produced in 1745.

The weather improved for a while and it was very sunny outside but windy and cold.  There was still a very heavy swell.

We went to the science centre to see an experiment on the effect of glacier ice (that we collected on a zodiac cruise in Antarctica) on sea water and learned how pure water from icebergs falling from the glacier floats over salt water in the ocean and the effects this has on Antarctic circumpolar current.

The sea became very rough again so we spent the rest of the afternoon in the cabin.  So no more penguin photos or videos.


Comments

  1. JustSteph20 February 2022 at 01:44

    Thanks for badge no. 2! And after yesterday's waddle of penguins I think we can cope with not having photos of them today. Apparently it is a raft of penguins if they are in the water but lots of collective nouns can be used. My favourite is a tuxedo of penguins!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Splottdad20 February 2022 at 06:02

      Why isn't it a p..p..p..pick of penguins 🐧🐧🐧🐧

      Delete
    2. Jean Dalby20 February 2022 at 07:43

      It is - for the chocolate covered species 🤣🤣

      Delete
    3. splottdad20 February 2022 at 10:26

      boom tish ... #AyeFankYew ... x

      Delete
  2. Ann20 February 2022 at 07:12

    When will you reach The Falklands

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jean Dalby20 February 2022 at 07:42

      Monday morning at 8.00. Then we have all day to roam around Stanley.

      Delete
    2. splottdad20 February 2022 at 10:27

      As long as it isn't Stanley Johnson!!

      Delete

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