That night, as we tucked into our scrumptious dinner prepared by the Russian chef on board, our expedition leader Boris Wise introduced us to the One Ocean Expeditions team, comprising an ornithologist, historian, naturalist, marine biologists, mountaineers and photographer. For many of us, Antarctica was the last continent in the world to discover.
“Now, let’s talk about…” said Boris, “The Drrrake!” We laughed nervously. I had fretted for months about crossing the dreaded Drake Passage (the barrier between South America’s Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica), notorious for being the roughest stretch of water on the planet.
However, to our massive relief, Boris went on to explain that we had escaped the wrath of the Drake and its “Drake Shake”, as a storm the night before had produced waves 35m high, thus ensuring that our passage across the “Drake Lake” would be a smooth sail. The Drake Lake crossing was hardly devoid of adventure though; we gently slid up and down our bed as we slumbered—luckily, we had duly “Drake proofed” our cabin that night.