The Angry Sea (updated with pic)

From Mindy, dated January 8:

Woke up to rough seas.  Not good for Mindy...  3 meter swells as we near the ice edge.  Water temps dropping to 1.9 degrees C, air temp at 6 C, barometer 977.  We are moving at 12 knots, but making slower progress than we'd like because the rough seas are absorbing some of our speed.

Gold Harbor Sunset (click to enlarge)

Unfortunately the rough seas were more than I could handle today.  I missed the entire day of programs, to include talks about Shackelton's men, the geology of Elephant Island, and photography critiques (where we share each other's photos and learn what can do to make them better).  I holed up in my bunk, and my roommate Darcy was kind enough to look after me and bring me some food and water throughout the day.

By the end of the day we had 4-6 meter swells and 35 knot winds!  I remained in bed and ended up getting about 28 hours of sleep.  Since I'm typing up these notes after the fact, I happen to know that the seas are more calm in the future... Read on to Jan 9 to find out (ooh, cliffhanger! - Ed.)...