The first Wanderer
I saw some petrels skydiving near our stern. Maybe they were playing with our invisible air wash, maybe waiting for some organic waste to be thrown overboard (Marpol convention permitting). Like a gun in an arctic hut, our mainly birds dedicated camera is always handy, ready to grab and shoot. It was a few minutes after sunset. We had already caught some gorgeously faced Spectacled Petrels in the morning, but it seemed they were back.
In the cockpit’s port side, I leaned on the foresails furling winch. I gazed high in the sky, above the horizon, between waves, guessing an agile black silhouette passing by. And immediately the world seemed to stop, when I sensed a giant white presence traveling through the dark blue sky. I rapidly realized it was our first Wanderer Albatross. The majesty of the marine skies was there, following the vessel. I could feel my heartbeat. The moment was silent, intime, almost secret. I shot some photos but I laid the camera down to enjoy the spectacle bare eyed.
It is very tempting to write here all the incredible things you can read about them in our boat wildlife guides. But I’m not a bird expert, I just like looking and taking photos of them. Then If you feel like knowing more about the longest-winged flying birds on Earth (with wingspans that can exceed three meters), about these superior beings, don’t hesitate, go and look for them in your favourite search engine. Their family and breeding behaviours, their loyalty to their community, their wide flying range (about twenty thousand kilometres in just a few weeks, or even years without touching land), make the Wanderer and Royal Albatrosses one of the most revered and special creatures.
All these past months of preparations, shipyard and office work start to pay off. The boat is reaching South. The Vinson of Antarctica has seen its first so-called Wanderer Albatross! The first of hundreds, I know. Soon we should be riding a Southern Ocean gale surrounded by them, shortly we must be landing biologists or film teams to observe them in their breeding colonies in remote Sub-Antarctic islands. Very soon.
They are like whales, or dolphins, you can get even used to see them, their clean spirit and presence are very strong, they will always hook you.
Kenneth Perdigón Skipper
