NOVEMBER 18TH, 2011 -- 7PM

Tomorrow will be another day of crushing ice as Coulman Island is still 170 miles away. Due to the large ice floes and sea currents, we have traveled only half as far as yesterday. Now we are heading in a southeasterly direction because that is where the lightest ice is taking us. Ice charts are not always accurate so the captain completed three helicopter recon to view the ice miles ahead in search of the lightest ice so we can head further south. After all we are the only passenger ship in the Ross Sea at this time. We may very well be the only ship, other than a supply ship, in the Ross Sea this early in the year. We are limited to our own resources to find our way south.

In short, our plan tomorrow is to go South!

(This is Laurie's fourth visit to Antarctica. She is blogging her way through this epic month-long Antarctica trip; the Kapitan Khlebnikov’s Ross Sea Centennial Voyage. Tune in for daily updates from the field. Pictures from Laurie’s past Antarctica travels are found on her website.)