Golfo de Penas and offshore waters

Low pressure systems have swept the southwest Chilean coast in an uninterrupted manner for the last couple of weeks. In between, brief periods of better conditions with the wind dropping, make for exploring in the inshore waters of Patagonia.

30, 40, 50 knots of northerly have shown often in the wind meter, the engines have been working hard pushing against it, on our way along the maze of the Chilean Channels.

And now the time has arrived when Europa reaches the legendary Golfo de Penas, an offshore passage to rejoin again the Patagonian fjords further north. From the northern mouth of the Fallos Channel, there is no other way than to venture into the open seas, at least until rounding the northern cape of the gulf, Peninsula de Tres Montes. Ahead of us about 400 nautical miles unsheltered by the fjords amongst the Patagonian mountains.

Wind blows, wind vanishes. Today the wind abates out at sea, steady breeze instead of blustery weather. Rain is not falling anymore and for the first time in our voyage, the sun shines for more than a couple of hours. For the whole day even! Low pressures are giving way to a high that affects those latitudes.

Wind comes, wind fades away, giving Europa a chance for good sailing.

Early morning. Hands are called on deck to start setting sail. Behind, the Chilean Channels; ahead the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. The seas grow. The West Wind Drift current compresses the oceanic flow against the broken coast of channels and fjords, building up confused swells as it hits the shallower waters of the narrow and steep continental shelf. A rough start, gradually getting better while the ship progresses to deeper, more offshore areas.

Along the day, the calmer conditions we sail after the blustery situation in the channels become even too relaxed. Just a light breeze blows. Courses are clewed up and the engines help with our progress to meet the forecasted stronger southerlies and southeasterly winds, further ahead of us.

The use of the wind. Hardening hands pulling ropes to set the canvas that pulls the ship. Out and around, large wings to glide over the ocean. The great albatrosses are among the most spectacular sights of the Southern Ocean. This was the day to start enjoying the good sailing, this was the first day to start catching sight of some of the pelagic bird species, oceanic birds that soar on the same winds that propel the ship.

Wandering and Royal albatrosses. Impressive wingspans up to 3.45 metres, almost the width of Europa's deckhouse.

Except for juveniles and downy young, no two Wandering albatrosses are alike.

Marchant & Higgins (1990)

Variability in sizes and monochrome patterns that led to difficulties in describing the different species of the genus, and still presents complications for the untrained eye.

First described by Linnaeus in 1758, the Swedish botanist and founder of modern systematics, based on a classification system involving binomial Latin names (genus and species). But his characterisation of them proved to be quite inadequate and it is doubted he ever saw a specimen, most probably having based it on a previous drawing.

And here we come across yet another great historical character who sailed the Pacific Ocean in the 1700s and the life scientists that accompanied him in his voyages and adventures of discovery. Captain James Cook.

Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander aboard the Endeavour in her expedition during 1768–71 reported the first Wandering albatross to be described by naturalists. A specimen beautifully illustrated by Sydney Parkinson.

On Captain Cook's second voyage it appears in Foster's diary in 1772, referring to it as 'great white albatross' or 'large common albatross'. Observations that pioneered the proper identification of species and individuals and the realisation of their different plumages at different ages. As he wrote: "A great number of Albatrosses attended the ship. Some were caught…. With a hook and line and a piece of sheepskin for a bait so that the whole number was nine. I now plainly saw that the brown ones were young and small and that they grew whiter so as they increased in size and age". Great insights, though they remained forgotten for 128 years, making the history of their identification a quite convoluted one. And still the identification of different species and separation between Royal and Wandering albatrosses took longer.

Binoculars at hand, cameras clicking, many join on Europa's decks today to try to identify them. Weather is good and inviting to enjoy the impressive flight of such majestic birds.

Setting canvas, sailing, good weather, fascinating birdlife. And by the end of the day, yet another treat. As the sun hides below the horizon, it offers a small colourful instant. As it disappears, the small segment of the upper part of the sun's disc turned emerald-green.

A phenomenon that usually lasts only a fraction of a second, which is the reason for calling it the "green flash".

The last rays of sunlight from the upper limb of the sun get refracted before reaching the observer's eye. At this moment, on their horizontal passage through the lower atmosphere, the shorter wavelengths, violet, blue and green, experience greater refraction than the orange and red. A beguiling moment that lasts a twinkling of an eye before dusk and a bright full moon night.