Crossing the Scotia Sea: Two Days En Route to South Georgia
Finally, Some Down Time
After leaving Elephant Island, it took us two full days of sailing across the Scotia Sea to reach South Georgia. These were quieter days, filled with lectures, naps, and the growing realisation that it’s impossible to avoid germs on a ship—I could feel a bit of a cold coming on. Despite our best efforts, the close quarters made it hard to stay entirely healthy.
We had another South Georgia briefing, which included yet another round of cleaning, particularly our gear and muck boots, to ensure we wouldn’t inadvertently bring any contaminants ashore. They again suggested cutting the velcro off our pants to avoid trapping debris—though I still wasn’t ready to go that far. The windows were also covered at night to prevent bird strikes, a precaution in this part of the world.
The routine was punctuated by moments of excitement. Andy got up at 3am in hopes of catching a glimpse of A-76A, the massive iceberg that broke off in 2023, but he was a day early. We didn’t end up passing A76-A, but saw some of its remnants drifting in the sea. I don’t remember seeing any icebergs this far north last year.
While sea days might look dull on the itinerary, and we had 7 sea days on this 23-day itinerary. To be honest, we appreciated the downtime. Between biosecurity checks, planning future travel, and gazing at passing icebergs, the time passed more quickly than expected. Even though these days were less action-packed, they were a welcome break before the excitement of South Georgia.
