
Elephant Island, Point Wild, the departure point for Sir Ernest Shackelton and 5 of his crew after beeing shipwrecked in the Endurance, crushed by Ice. Leaving 22 men behind. 800nml to the nearest inhabited Island, South Georgia. We did not see the place. It was hidden in the fog. The beach the 22 men lived on for 4 months faces north and is open to pretty much all swell except from the south. We did not stand a chance of a safe landing so we pushed on to Cape Lookout. Even sailed most of the way, through the fog and ice. Under Mizzn, Staysail and number two jib. This way we dont go to fast and stay more manuverable. A small but delightful cove gives relative good protection. To big Penguin rockeries are found on the shore and cliffs. Sea lions, Fur Seals and Elephant seals dominate the beach. The perfect first landing on South Shetland! Most of the morning was filled by the fog. But when it lifted we found our self’s sailing in the French Alps. The Endurance Glacier calft of some ice just enough to make it enjoyable and not to much work for the helmsmen/women. It was hard to focus, so many thing going on at once. There was alot of whale activity. Manly Finwhales and Humpbacks. More than once did we have to stop the boat to let some whales pass ahead of us. And a new bird, the Southern Fulmar. To me they look alittle more slender than the once we know in the north. Also their colors are better aranged. A light grey with darker wing tips. Great to see them as we have so many around the ship in the north. On our visits to Iceland we get a good look at them on Hornvik where they are the main dish for the brave enough Arctic foxes.

Shortly after we left there was a call on the VHF. “Esperanza for Tecla” The Greenpeace ship, who could this be? “He Gijs” a Dutch voice called. It was Bob, one of our voyage crew on the North West Passage. Brilliant what a moment! From one icy sea to the other and here we are crossing paths again. Bob had a group of researchers on board studying Penguin behavior. We wished one another fair winds and sailed on. For us this means Penguin Island. Today we where on Elephant Island and saw penguins, what will we see on Penguin Island tomorrow….