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Today was foggy too although the day started well when two blue whales were spotted close to the ice but sadly were soon lost due to the poor visibility. All our acoustic bearings to singing blue whales pointed into the ice so we tentatively entered a more open area. At one point the sonobuoys were telling us we were within a mile of the blue whales but with poor visibility and lots of ice its surprisingly easy to miss the largest animals that have ever lived! Again we saw lots of humpbacks and a few minke whales in the ice as well as the usual complement of adelie penguins, crabeater seals, snow and Antarctic petrels, giant-petrels, southern fulmars and Antarctic terns.
After the visibility deteriorated further we left the ice just in time for the weekly muster and a group photo in front of a particularly photogenic iceberg.
Giving up on the blue whales for the day we turned to an echosounder survey of the open water.
Tomorrow a southerly wind is forecast which we hope will bring cooler air and better visibility.
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.