The Drake Passage is the body of water between the
southern tip of South America (called Cape Horn) and the northern tip of
Antarctica (essentially, at our northern-most sampling sites). To remind you of
the geography here: The southern tip of South America is a large island called
Tierra del Fuego. The Strait of Magellan passes between mainland South America
and Tierra del Fuego, and the very southern tip of Tierra del Fuego is called
Cape Horn. So, Cape Horn is the southern-most point of South America, and the
Drake Passage flows below it (between Cape Horn and the Antarctic Peninsula),
connecting the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
The Drake Passage is named after Sir Francis Drake, a sea
captain during the Elizabethan Era in the 1500s who circumnavigated the world
in one journey. There are rumors that Drake discovered this passage during his
journey by accident. The story is that his ships were trying to get through the
Strait of Magellan (because that was the known passage between the Atlantic and
Pacific), but they were blow too far south by a bad storm and discovered that
the continent ended and the oceans were connected by this Passage. It’s
possible that it happened this way, but some argue that it’s not likely (and
there are no accurate historical accounts to prove it happened). So, naming the
passage after Sir Francis Drake might be a misnomer!
The Drake Passage is famous for having very rough seas.
This is because of a mixture of ocean currents and wind. The Antarctic
Circumpolar Current, or ACC, is an ocean current that flows clockwise around
Antarctica. Because Antarctica is a nice, round continent and there are no
major chunks of land in the ocean surrounding it (just little islands), there
is a clear path for the current to move in a circle around Antarctica. That
makes it a very strong current, in fact the strongest one on the planet!
In the Drake Passage, the cold-water ACC meets with the
warmer currents from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. These different currents
don’t mix together neatly, and the water gets famously rough here in the Drake
where they come together. There are also some very strong westerly winds (that is,
winds coming from the west) that make it very windy, in addition to the choppy
mixing of ocean currents.
Some days are choppier and windier than other, of course.
When we crossed the Drake at the beginning of our trip, the conditions were on
the bad side. We had fairly large waves and very high winds (around 40 to 50
knots, sometimes even up to 60 knots). Worse conditions have certainly been
reported for the Drake, but we had 2-3 days of constant wind and waves. It made
for a very tough few days! This time, the weather was better. Winds were only
around 30-40 knots, and while we had some big waves, it was just occasional. We
didn’t have two solid days of rough seas. We fared much better this time! Last
time, all of us spent most of the time laying in our bunks. This time, we were
all up and moving around more, eating most of our meals like normal.
It’s hard to get a good picture to show you the waves,
because you have to catch it at just the right moment. Plus, it’s hard to stand
outside on deck in heavy seas! This is the best I could do. (And remember, this
is from today, the much nicer trip across the Drake compared to when we were
last here.)
We still have another day or two of sailing before we are
back in Punta Arenas. We are just now able to see Argentina in the horizon.
(Note: Maps from Wikimedia)
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