The World’s Antarctica Journey: Right Whales chaperone our voyage west

After departing Stromness on Friday evening, we were on a west-northwest course for Stanley in the Falkland Islands. The distance to be covered was about 700 miles. High winds were scheduled to begin later on Saturday. However, early that morning we passed Shag Rocks, the last land we would see for two days. This is a group of six small islands 150 miles west of South Georgia. Their peak elevation is about 246′ above sea level and the water is about 1000′ deep. The rocks looked to be covered with birds including Georgian shags, prions and wandering albatross.

A few minutes after we passed the rocks the Captain announced that a couple of Southern Right Whales had been spotted on the port side – our side!! Most sightings are on the starboard side so this was exciting. I managed to get a couple of pictures although the whales never really surfaced. These are huge creatures that can grow to as much as 55′ and weigh 60 tons.What a privilege to view.