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We had another Aurora appear over the ship last night, quite lucky to see the Southern Lights so strongly here. Today we pulled into Buckles Bay for the last time on this voyage and commenced the final passenger transfers. The LARC brought us 12 passengers and 10 dogs to settle in while we waited for our watercraft operators to winterise the two LARCs remaining ashore. The watercraft operators transferred out to the ship at 11:30 bringing our complement up to our final 48 expeditioners and 11 dogs.
Everyone completed a safety drill before sailing, moving up to the spare deck with their survival bags and immersion suits. It was then time to bunker down and hold on tight as we departed Macquarie Island directly into some pretty rough weather. We had spent the morning securing all loose items on the ship and making sure that our cabin baggage would stay where we put it. This was time well spent as when we sailed out past North Head we were immediately pitching and rolling in rough seas. These conditons are likely to settle a bit within 24 hours so at this stage most people are planning an easy first day on the ship - staying horizontal and reading or sleeping. A fair few have succumbed to sea sickness but hopefully will be up on their feet again soon. It's a harsh introduction to encounter these conditions so soon after sailing but great to know that we'll soon be through it and on the way up the Derwent River.
Our arrival is set for 6pm on Monday night so the excitement of coming home is building on board. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank the ingoing and outgoing expeditioners as well as our round trip support personnel for a great resupply.
Finally, thankyou to the 2013/14 Macquarie Island group for your hospitality and we hope the 2014/15 expeditioners have a wonderful year on the island. We look forward to keeping in touch and hearing about your amazing experiences over the coming winter.
Cheers, Nicki & Sharon
Map
A map showing Australia and Antarctica. The map shows the journey of one voyage that has occured in the season, with each route highlighted in a distinct colour.