The first day of the season onboard the Russian vessel Ioffe and the day is spent carting boxes from the warf and storing ship for the next passage. The vessel is a typical russian ice-class ship with winding coridors, hidden stairs and six decks which takes a lot of getting used to. It also has massive decks which will get interesting when we hit the bis seas of the drake and have guest just developing thier sealegs and being hurled around on a slippery deck. The air has the slight hint of diesel and the smell of adventure clings to everything.

Right now we are holding off departure for a couple of hours while we wait for a huge weather system to pass through. But we are promed to go and already there are black browed albatross and kelp gull wheeling aroud in the wind over the deck. The Albatross will be our companions as we set later tonight and point our bows towards Antarctica.