Today we prepare for the dreaded Drake crossing. Contents of lockers are rearranged, half-inch lexan storm panels are screwed over the cabin windows. Eggs are boiled for later use; food packed; apple sauce made in case of future nausea, clothing sorted to reduce changes, seasick pills consumed. The engine is taken off the zodiac, cleaned and stored. Tomorrow, the zodiac's last duty will be to be pulled back to uncouple the strops at the end of the land lines, and then to be disassembled and stowed.

The GRIB is consulted and a preliminary course laid out. Light air is projected early, so we expect to start motoring and the wind is expected to go SW for a few days. A waypoint (or enroute destination) is set west of a direct path. By then the wind is expected to swing NW and we will be driven east. But there will be adjustments along the way. We're trying to skip between skittish moving lows. The GRIB forecasts are less reliable the further they peer into the future.

The day is dull and sleet filled. We wait hopefully for a slight clearing so we can see the local gentoo colony. No luck, it just gets worse. So, we set out anyway, huddled in a bouncing zodiac, progressively more drenched with spray and driven snow, until we land again against glacier-smoothed granite. We climb the stone hill and look back at the colony. A vast array of evenly spaced standing and wandering birds. Some climb up and past us, sure-footed on smooth, wet, steep boulders, cutely hopping over gaps like toddlers. This is so much part of their appeal: they are so like little people in formal dress and baggy pants. A leopard seal in the water is grabbing returning birds, shaking them inside out, for a freshly peeled meal. On return, we are amazingly dry under our sodden outer gear.

We're grateful we've experienced this otherworldly part of our planet. We're nostalgic about not seeing it again. We'll miss icebergs; they are endlessly fascinating. And some of us have expressed a little trepidation about the comfort of the coming passage. But the thought of a wide and stable bed, space to spread out, and easy access outdoors, has some compensating appeal. (Posted by Roger)

For more about Seal see http://www.expeditionsail.com.