Journal - November 27

Woke to brilliant blue skies and bright sunlight, and slightly smoother seas. Comparatively light breezes. Spent some time on the stern deck before breakfast in my shirtsleeves. After breakfast, we had a presentation on birds of South Georgia, interrupted by Killer Whales, interrupted again by Fin Whales and concluded a bit early. A little later, but still before lunch, we had the comparatively rare Southern Bottlenose Whale, which was a lifer. And in early afternoon, a Southern Right Whale. A fine day for whales.

Also spent some time on the bridge, where I picked up Antarctic Prion. As it turned out, that was an anticlimax. I probably saw tens of thousands of Antarctic Prions before the day was over. The ocean was covered with them as we approached Shag Rocks. Has to be an upwelling.

Shag Rocks are appropriately named. Five sea stacks, covered in Imperial Shags and guano. The seas around them were alive with three species of albatross, Prions and Giant Petrels.

The afternoon was otherwise given over to preparing for and taking precautions about South Georgia. The government is especially concerned about invasive seeds. And we were hit up for money to deal with the Norwegian Black Rat problem. Still, after 2.5 days confined to the ship, excitement is high.

$210 in email bills one-third of the way through the trip. Ouch.

Another gorgeous day, possibly the finest yet. The seas are even a bit flatter. Amazing weather.

Southern Right Whale Blow	Southern Right Whale Dive	Fin Whale
Shag Rocks	Shag Rocks	Shag Rocks

Birds:
Black-browed Albatross
Wandering Albatross
Royal Albatross
Southern Giant Petrel
Antarctic Prion (photo)
Thin-billed Prion (photo)
Wilson's Storm-Petrel
Cape Petrel

Mammals:
Orca
Fin Whale
Southern Bottlenose Whale
Southern Right Whale

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