After two days at sea, we finally arrived at South Georgia! In the early hours of the morning the ship was maneuvered into Right Whale Bay and all looked good for a morning landing. As soon as the first Zodiac was in the water, the wind started to increase and did not stop. We had gusts of over 80 knots! Needless to say, the operation was ended and instead we enjoyed a presentation on Ernest Shackleton and the tale of the Endurance from Ezra Siegel.
After lunch the wind was still blowing hard. We had moved the ship over to the Bay of Isles to wait out the weather and Expedition Diver Gail Ashton gave a talk on krill and its importance to this ecosystem. Afterwards, the fog lifted and the wind slackened a bit, allowing us to get close to Salisbury Plain by ship, however the wind was still too strong for a landing. For the full sensory experience, we had the wind coming offshore along with the smell of 73,000 pairs of king penguins with chicks, which was a moment everyone will remember.
