Leaving the Antarctic

Wine for diesel - not a bad trade for the people of the yacht Sedna, a millionaire's floating palace converted to a filming base by a group of enthusiastic Canadian wildlife documentary makers. They are having re-supply problems and all their wine is still in Argentina, much to their dismay!

We are invited for dinner and are in the zodiac armed with the ingredients to make Pisco Sours (a chilean cocktail) but lack some ice. Not a problem in the Antarctic, we slow down, lean over the side, pickup a small iceberg and race on.

On Sedna the Captain is the cook tonight, so in total 21 of us enjoy a great dinner around their large mahogany table. We toast them for their courage to spend the next 9 months wintering over in the Antarctic, and they us for our impending voyage across the Drake. Later we watch some of their wildlife footage - truly great from an inspirational group. Have a look at www.sedna.tv.

Next morning we wake early to decks slippery with ice and finish getting the boat ready for the Drake. Frozen ropes and sub-zero temperatures make for numb hands and hard work.

Off we sail, and are soon heeled over by strong winds and steep seas. It's hard not to be superstitious about what the future holds, the most dangerous part is as we approach Cape Horn where the sea shallows, the waves get bigger and the storms more concentrated. We have the latest technology of satelite photos and weather predicitions, it only helps to refine the guess of the future and not eliminate the risk!

Erik