24th December - Port Lockroy 64 degrees 49.67' South/ 63 degrees 36.21' West, overcast and dry at first, then snow showers and later sunshine, Air Temperature 5 degrees C, Water Temperature 1.1 degrees C, wind Southwest 1-3, Sunrise 2.23am, Sunset midnight.

Brought passengers to Jougla Point at Port Lockroy, a British base in the the antarctic.
Jougla point has a colony of 1,500 Gentoo penguins. At both here and Cuverville Island we had Leopard Seals come up to investigate a Zodiac, swimming around and under it and biting at the side on one occasion. After that we headed for the Lemaire Channel, a very picturesque narrow channel and our furthest point south on this cruise. Unfortunately the channel was clogged with ice and the captain decided not to try and enter the channel. We turned around and started for Half Moon Island, where we will land tomorrow, Christmas day and afterwards head out across the Drake Passage for Ushuaia. Between the top of the Lemaire channel and the beginning of the Bransfield Strait we passed through incredible scenery with towering snow topped peaks and glaciers on the peninsula to our east and the islands to our west and icebergs of all shapes and sizes passing south around the ship. We notched up 53 Humpback Whales on the Cruise north. They were lung feeding, breaching, tail slapping and spy hopping, some very close to the ship. They were in groups of two or three and many seem to be mother and calf pairs.
Got to go now. Up at 4.45am tomorrow to bring passengers to Half Moon Island to visit a Chinstrap Penguin colony. Thanks to everyone for their great comments and have a great Christmas! Bye for now.

22:12 (pm) Bransfield Strait - 63 degrees 48.66' South/ 61 degrees 28.78' w, overcast but dry, Air temperature: 2 degrees C, Water Temperature: 3.2 degrees C, wind Southwest force 3.

Cruise Species List Sunday 24th December 2007

Mammals
Humpback Whale 53+
Leopard Seal 2+
Weddell Seal 1

Birds
Giant Petrel 4+
Black-browed Albatross 3
Cape Petrel 2
Snow Petrel 2
Wilson’s Storm Petrel 15+
Gentoo Penguin 1,400
Adelie Penguin 2
Chinstrap Penguin 10+
Snowy Sheathbill 10+
Antarctic Shag 50+
Brown “Sub Antarctic” Skua 40+
South Polar Skua 2
Kelp Gull 100+
Antarctic Tern 50+



Note: A + sign after the counts indicates that we saw at least that number but more may have been present.