April 12th
We were due to end the day positioned in the lee of Gough Island hopefully hiding and riding out the worst of the weather system that so far we had been avoiding. It was a certainty that we would not be able to undertake any zodiac cruises whilst there due to the worsening weather and once the storm had passed we would continue on our way to Tristan Da Cunha. However, this didn't happen as overnight one of the male passengers had died and the captain had taken the decision to head straight to Tristan Da Cunha and sort of skirting the worst part of the storm. We learned of what had happened early on the morning of the 12th April as we were all called into the lounge and given a de-brief of the situation and decision by the captain and the expedition leader. The main reason for heading straight to Tristan was to commence the formalities required for the death on-board making use of the British authority present on Tristan. It was a bit of a shock but to be honest given the age of some of the passengers not an entirely unexpected thing to happen on a cruise ship. Obviously we felt sorry for the mans partner and some of the exped crew stayed with her and provided consoling support.
The sea state was heavy both during the night and day and it seemed that many of the birds we had seen on the 11th were staying with the ship.
Spectacled Petrel
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