Into the Heart of the Drake Passage

From Ushuaia, at the very southern tip of Argentina, we can access pretty good weather forecasts looking 3-5 days ahead; our biggest concern has been the winds in the Drake Passage, notoriously one of the windiest places on earth. As we leave Ushuaia the predictions are that it won’t blow above 30 mph for the next three days, which is optimistic. In fact, it is glassy and calm when we pull away from the dock …

“Wild Antarctica 3D”

We are once again off for the Antarctic Peninsula, this time armed with 3D cameras.

Production of “Wild Antarctica 3D” begins when we sail away from Ushuaia, Argentina, on New Year’s Day aboard the 74-foot sailboat “Pelagic Australis.” This new film, slated for museum and theatrical release in spring 2013, will focus on the big changes being experienced along the length of the Peninsula by its wildlife, the ocean and land as warmer seas and air temperature continue to impact its ice.

And in Antarctica, as we’ve seen many times before, it is all about the ice.

The new film is the result of a filmmaking partnership of Giant Screen Films/D3D Cinema, DQBD Films and OCEANS 8 Films. Experienced cold weather videographers and divers Ken Corben and Bob Cranston will do much of the heavy lifting — shooting both above and below sea level (29 degrees F) — as we sail along the Peninsula.

Our first stop will be Deception Island, then onto the Gerlache Strait and Argentine Islands. Highlights will be a two-day stop at the U.S. science base at Palmer Station and a rendezvous with the “National Geographic Explorer.”

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