Today, I saw my first non-virtual iceberg, at 1900 hours 65.19W 59.185, a few hours before the Convergence, so unusually in warm(ish) waters of the Atlantic. As I was in a state of soggy undress, I was only able to squint through the cabin portholes, but I confess to something of a lump in my throat that wasn’t ice. All day we have been travelling at 14 knots across Drake’s Passage, a notoriously turbulent stretch of water recently (i.e. this week) tackled by Ellen MacArthur singlehandedly. Untypically, and to the chagrin of the crew, (but delight of the queasy) our traverse so far has been across ‘Drake’s Lake’ and remarkably tame seas. This trade-off for comfort comes at a price i.e. no wind, therefore few birds. We have had fleeting sightings of black-browed and spectacularly, the Wandering Albatross, with a wingspan of 4 metres. Humpback whales interrupted our dessert, but the captain turned the ship around so we could all see them. The Ops group are very appreciative of their relationship with the Russian crew. This morning, we went onto the bridge – very calm, efficient, orderly, and with all the signal flags stowed tidily in pigeon holes labelled impenetrably in Cyrillic script – marginally more decipherable than the flags, however. Throughout the day, we have attended presentations on penguins, birds, seals etc. from knowledgeable, enthusiastic folk, frequently interspersed with good, abundant, unnecessary food. Actually – I attended them: Adrian suffered and slept. By dinner time, he was much recovered, and entered into many lively conversations. It is now 2206 and we have just crossed 60°S in increasing fog and rain at 4.3°C. Still calm.