~Travel Friends & Friends View Antarctica 3~
"The old man knew he was going far out and he left the smell of the land behind and rowed out into the clean early morning smell of the ocean". Earnest Hemimgway.The Drake Passage has earned a place in history as having some of the roughest sea weather on the planet. The Drake Passage occurs where the fast flowing southern ocean waters are squeezed between the continental land masses of South America and Antarctica. Storms frequently whip the ocean into a dark grey turbulent, heaving mass of water, reknowned for sinking many a ship.On our return trip the passage proved itself worthy of its reputation. The Captain's Log showed rough seas with 24' swells and gale force winds at 34-40 knots.
Drake Passage
 
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Sunset on the Drake Passage
For 33 hours we never saw land or another ship.
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Sunset on the Drake Passage
9 Humpback whales playing around the ship
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Mother and calf
Whale "blowing"
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"Fluke"-tail display
Showing off
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Blowing and playing
Saying "Good Bye" to 25 Humpback Whales
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