Today is our last day of steaming across the passage. It's been a mix of
last minute preparations and relaxing. The NCSU group is still struggling
to get the nutrient analyzer running. The Hawaii group has been prepping
the underwater camera to make sure the housing does not leak, that the
strobe is timed correctly, and that the lasers we use for size/scale are
set properly.



We continue to have outstanding weather. The seas are about as calm as we
have ever seen in the Drake Passage and the sun has shone all day. We are
seeing alot of albatross and a few smaller birds but not much other
wildlife yet. It is defintiely getting colder though! The air
temperature is around 5.3 degrees C and the water temperature is 2.5
degrees C. When we left Punta Arenas, the temperature was in the upper
teens.



Tomorrow morning at 6:00 am we will be stopping at King George Island very
briefly (at Bellinghausen first, then COPA). After we exchange supplies
at COPA we will leave the South Shetlands and head for Palmer Station on
Anvers Island.

Position: 60 degrees 25.387 minutes South, 60 degrees 51.950 minutes West
Speed over ground: 10.6 knots
Heading: 160.4 degrees