There is always someone!

22nd January 2016 Part 2
Whilst navigating the Gerlache Straight this afternoon we spotted a sailing  yacht. No matter what adventure you do there is always someone that will push it further.
When we reached Cuverville Island it was a little too windy for the zodiacs so we waited half an hour while the captain found a suitable place to launch from.
When you go ashore and return to the ship you disinfect and clean your boots, trekking poles and camera tripods. This is not only to stop us moving seeds and bugs from one place to another but to clean off the penguin poop you pick up on your boots
So for this afternoon on Cuverville Island the penguin of the day was Gentoo's, again 1000s of them. We did see a Skua raid the rockery and come out with a penguin egg. It was just one of those things that happen in nature, it was nothing to do with us being there.
We could see lots of penguins porpoising in the sea around the island.
On the return to the ship the zodiacs did not take the direct route as we went on a little bit of a tour around some icebergs. On one of the floes there was a seal resting, I think it was a Leopard Seal but I need to check with the guides as our zodiac driver did not speak English.
Confirmation from the guides that it was a Leopard Seal. Along with Orca's Leopard Seals are the top predator in the Antarctic. It was probably sleeping on the ice floe having had its fill of Gentoo's!
Tomorrows plan is to be up early as we expect to start navigating the Lemaire Channel at 7:00am. This channel is about 9km long but only 600m wide. After breakfast the plan is to land at Peterman Island. Here we should see more Gentoo and our first Adelie Penguins. Also there should be the possibility to see Blue Eyed Shags. The Adelies are more skittish than Chinstraps and Gentoo's so we will have to be even more careful around them.
For the afternoon landing it is hoped that we can visit Vernadsky Station which is now a Ukraine research station but was formally the UK Faraday Station. This is where the hole in the ozone was first discovered. We will also visit Wordie House, Base F of the Tabavian Operations from the UK during World War II. Of course this is all weather dependent.