Day 3 "In the Drake Passage - sailing the gentle waves with ease."

Saturday, January 11,2014
At 7:30 am Chad's meditative voice over the PA in our room introduces us to the day. During the night we crossed south over the 60th parallel. This puts us in Antarctic waters. There was no darkness last night but rather bright twilight the night through. This morning the air temperature is +1, water temperature +1. The wind is 7 knots from the north, the view is various shades of grey with scattered whitecaps on the water. Everyone is feeling better. We have sailed 416 miles since leaving Ushuaia.
We were able to enjoy the 8:00am breakfast buffet this morning but conversation is difficult due to the noise factor in the dining room. Cold cereals, boiled and scrambled eggs, hot dog looking sausages, pan fries, pancakes, bagels, toast, cheeses, jams, cold meats, yogurt, fruit and fruit juices made up this wonderful buffet.
 Later this morning are mandatory sessions on Zodiac Operations plus IAATO Guidelines. Now is reading time in the library while we keep an eye on the sea from the portholes at the bow of the ship.
Our supplied wetskins velcro and pockets and any other gear have been checked and vacuumed for seeds, a bio security measure.
There are 10 zodiacs on board, each with a 16hp outboard. The first zodiac excursions will be tomorrow. These excursions last around 3 hrs.
I haven't received any relies from my emails sent yesterday...wonder if they have been received?
Lunch: Mediterranean bowtie pasta with zucchini, eggplant, olives and sundried tomatoes, Marsipone with raspberry sauce.
The lectures today were on seals and penguins and then a summary presentation called Lets Go To Antarctica which outlined the route and sights of the upcoming days. I also attended the photography session in the multimedia room.
The first iceburg was sighted this afternoon and the ship circled it for all to see. Some also sighted Orca whales from the bridge but they quickly disappeared into the fog. Yes, it has been foggy and snowing. Some on board have never seen snow.
The Royal Canadian Geographic Society held a reception in the library for us nine Canadian passengers. We introduced ourselves around the table. There are some very fascinating people who live fascinating lives. George and Mark from The Weather channel are here filming and sending back daily feeds to the network. A Canadian senator from the east coast is amongst our group. There are a lot of folks who are visiting their 7th continent. So many people who have travelled extensively. The founder of One Ocean, Andrew Prossin, a Canadian is with us on this voyage.

Dinner: Mom had the duck and I had the perch and pineapple upside down cake.
There are activities late into the evening...story telling in the bar and a movie in the presentation room but with dinner each night at 7:30, it is often 9 pm when it is finished. We are ready to call it a night and settle into our cabin.
Chad's wakeup call tomorrow will be earlier as we are arriving at Antarctica.