Descending the Col Lyall boardwalk for the final time, the howling winds dropped as the forecast had hinted. The Spirit of Enderby swung gently from her anchor in a calm sea while the occasional loud exhalation drew our attention to an inquisitive Sea Lion looking up at us from a spreading circle of ripples. The low cloud merged with the hill tops as a dusting of snow confused the skyline. Our departure was unfortunately earlier than planned as this window of stillness preceded another weather front that the captain wanted to run ahead of. We were heading north about 12 hours earlier than hoped for.

I enjoy time at sea with the endless parade of seabirds providing plenty of opportunity to practice flight shots but the sea condition meant the decks were closed and we were restricted to the bridge as a vantage point. Standing just outside one of the side-doors to the bridge and jamming myself into a corner it was impossible to brace myself adequately against the motion to track any birds in flight and I abandoned the exercise. The lecture room, with chairs flung into piles by the rolling conditions, was inhospitable so the next 2 days were divided between bridge, bunk, dining room and bar/library where we spent time organising photos.

Despite the conditions I really enjoyed the passage with the only negative being the tinge of sadness at the approaching end of our adventure. One thing this trip taught me was that my anxiety about seasickness was unfounded. Using our regular recipe of Scopolamine patches and Promethazine tablets I never suffered even the slightest twinge and enjoyed every meal despite some rather significant swaying.

The rolling conditions gave good opportunities for photos to show the nature of the conditions and we spent a lot of time watching the parade of seabirds. Identifying the various smaller birds, especially the confusing Prions, is challenging. A photo, even if not a great shot,  is often the best aid to identification.

The above photos taken on the bridge are all from the Fuji XT1 with the Samyang 8mm Fisheye lens which records a 180 degree field of view on the diagonal. This gives a distorted perspective and makes the space appear much larger than it is. This next photo with the X100s gives a more normal perspective for comparison.