Between 4 and 5 pm we boarded the FRAM. It was an overcast
and breezy day in Ushuaia and at the pier it was a busy day as ships lined both
sides of the pier. Before leaving the pier the FRAM held its mandatory safety
drill. We all went to our designated muster locations and were duly recorded as
attending. We then gathered in smaller groups to listen for instructions that
would be given in an emergency and we were able to watch crew member
demonstrate by putting on the survival suits. By dinner time we were motoring
eastward on the noted Beagle Channel and from our tables we were looking at the
cloud covered mountain ridges that border both sides of the Channel.
About 3 hours after leaving Ushuaia we passed the Puerto
Williams. To Chilean’s this is the southernmost town in the world, while to
Argentinian’s Ushuaia is the southernmost town and Puerto Williams is only a
village or military base..
At the eastern end of the Beagle Channel we dropped off the
Argentinian channel-pilot that had guided the FRAM from Ushuaia. Now we would
be turning south, leaving the Channel and heading into the open waters of the infamous
Drake Passage. Stay tuned as by tomorrow we will report was it “Drake-lake” or
“Drake-shake”??
