Our Return through the Drake

We left for the Drake Passage a little earlier than planned based on a weather report that was less than promising. The captain of our ship wanted to try and get out in front of the storm. I don’t know for sure how much this helped, because we were in rough waters for the entire return through the Drake.

It is difficult to explain how the ship was being tossed about, so I’m going to include a few pictures to provide perspective. The first is a picture of me sitting in front of the bow of the ship at the pier. The others will be pictures of waves cutting over the bow. So everyone understands, we were not allowed on the open deck to take pictures for the most violent parts of the storm. Even the bridge was off limits. This is an enclosed area where the captain and navigators manage the actions of the ship. The captain would often allow expedition members access to observe what was happening on the horizon.

As we "Drake proofed" ourselves and cabins and ourselves, I took a chance and did not take any Dramamine or other prescribed motion sickness medicine. It seemed as if most others had a skin colored patch (a prescription based motion sickness drug that lasts about three days) behind their ear as a bit of insurance. Dr. Ludwig (our family doctor) had provided this type of prescription and I made the purchase at my Albertsons pharmacy, but I didn’t want to use it. I’m sure some will criticize and question, others who have been on the ocean might think it was very stupid decision, but I wanted the full experience of going through the Drake Passage, come what may…bring it on.The feeling of being tossed around on a ship during a storm is quite exciting. However, I would say that about three quarters of the expedition team came down with seasickness. About half of those were throwing-up. Most of the team did not come to dinner that first night in the Drake, including Sean (My cabin and expedition partner) because they were a bit queasy. One member of the team thought it would be a good idea to get something in his stomach, hopefully to settle it a bit. Not a good idea. The smell of food when you are seasick only exacerbates the nausea. I saw him try to get out of the galley, but it was too late and all for nothing. He ended up vomiting in front of his team’s table (the few who had made it). Their facial expressions were priceless. I thought they were all going to run to the bathroom and start upchucking. This may sound a bit demented, but I actually think Robert Swan got a kick out of the fact that we were to encountering the Passage’s true personality….helped to solidify the experience for the team :)

We were in gale force winds and the waves were huge. How I would explain to adult and children, imagine/visualize being at Disneyland or another entertainment park on one of those zero gravity rides. The “re-entry,” “launching pad” or whatever they are called. However, there are multiple movements instead of two and it lasts for over two days. Like I mentioned, there are multiple movements (back and forth, up and down, side to side, all of them together). The first is when the ship rocks bow to aft (front to back). The second is port to starboard (left to right, sometimes referred to as a Dutch Roll). In the first, one moment, the ship is plunges in a downward forced motion. Like having the side walk drop out from underneath you in the dark…you don’t see it coming. The next, almost immediate, motion has is the whole ship being propelled upward until you are weightless and your body and ship hits zero G-force and is light as a feather. I found the Dutch Roll or second to be more uncomfortable and usually disruptive. This is the one that has the tendency to knock you out of bed or throw you against the walls when walking to some other part of the ship….It is quite the ride.

Enjoy the pictures.