Yankee Harbor, 12/17/2024, National Geographic Explorer
Aboard the
National Geographic Explorer
Antarctica
Despite the wind and the swells, our first landing in Yankee Harbor was absolutely fantastic. We saw the gentoo penguin colony, whalers’ and sealers’ artifacts, and at least 15 elephant seals fighting and having their well-deserved naps.
We spent the afternoon cruising on board National Geographic Explorer, admiring Edinburgh Hill and learning from our naturalists about the wonders of the Antarctic Continent.
Maria Intxaustegi is an internationally awarded maritime archaeologist, naval historian, commercial diver, professional offshore sailor, and expedition guide from the Basque Country.
Enter travel details to receive reports from a single expedition
Loading...
Loading...
Loading...
Send Daily Expedition Reports to friends and family
*By clicking the submit button, I authorize Lindblad Expeditions to email me; however, I am able to unsubscribe at any time. For more details, see our Privacy Policy.
Please note: All Daily Expedition Reports (DERs) are posted Monday-Friday,
during normal business hours. DERs are written onboard the ship only and do
not apply to land-based portions of expeditions.
This morning, National Geographic Explorer awoke to another bluebird day along the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula. On approach to the morning’s anchorage, we saw a number of humpback whales close to the ship in the Gerlache Strait. After breakfast we opted to either kayak or explore Graham Passage by Zodiac. Lots of ice in the water made for a beautiful outing and the Zodiac cruisers saw humpbacks, an elephant seal, shags, gentoo penguins, and even an Adelie in the mix. Graham Passage is named after an old whale catcher boat that foundered off the coast of Joinville Island in 1924 in a storm of blinding snow with the loss of her ten crew. A lifeboat was subsequently found with a frozen corpse, the only body recovered. Another geographic place name that helps tell the story of the peninsula’s past. After lunch we were hoping to make a landing, but 30+ knots of wind did not allow that to happen, so we headed for Cierva Cove where we did a ship cruise. Beautiful evening light got us back on deck after dinner and we reveled in the beauty of Antarctica and our great fortune with the three cloudless days!
National Geographic Explorer started the day at Wilhelmina Bay where we were able to get out on the fast ice and stroll comfortably on a windless bay with bright blue skies and comfortable temperatures. In the afternoon we relocated to nearby Cuverville Island, home to a wealth of breeding gentoo penguins. During transit times throughout the day, we were treated to a whale bonanza of humpbacks, Arnoux’s beaked whales, and orca whales.
