Surviving the Drake Passage || World’s Roughest Sea to ANTARCTICA || Pole to Pole Ep.12

In this entire journey, this is the first time I have seen such dangerous waves and such a wild ocean. If I move even a little, I start feeling nauseous. But the air here is so pure. The environment is so clean. We are now moving from the land of penguins towards the land of polar bears. Antarctica is truly amazing. Welcome to Antarctica.

Just look behind me – such beautiful views. What words can describe nature like this? I have no words. It is unbelievable.

Welcome to a new day. Yesterday, I went straight to sleep as soon as I returned. This morning, as soon as I woke up, they are taking us for the Polar Plunge – which means jumping into freezing cold water. If you want, you can do it. I am going to see whether I can do it or not. The Zodiac has been launched again for the Polar Plunge.

It is already extremely cold. The temperature right now is –3°C, but it feels like –15°C. Some people will take the plunge, but I cannot risk my health. We still have to travel from Argentina to Alaska. If you stand here without clothes even for one minute, you will freeze. Diving into the water is even more difficult.

We have reached Antarctica, but it is hard to understand the time zone here. Antarctica does not have its own time zone. There are around 70 research stations here, and each country follows its own time zone at its station. For example, if it is 8:00 in India, then India’s research station will follow Indian time. Because here, for four months there is complete darkness, and for four months there is 24-hour daylight. So every country follows its own time.

I asked the captain about our ship’s time zone. He said our ship follows Argentina’s time, because we departed from there. Interesting, isn’t it? Antarctica is truly unique.

If you want to see more videos like this, follow me and support this Pole-to-Pole journey. This is only the beginning. In the next two years, we will travel all the way to Alaska by bicycle and show you cultures of different countries.

Many people have gathered for the Polar Plunge. I doubt even half of them will actually jump. Some are just going to watch. The sun has appeared slightly, and the view is stunning.

Just like these people are jumping into the water, the penguins are also diving nearby. Penguins are the real kings here.

The glaciers here are huge, tall and completely blue. Normally you do not see such deep blue colour. It feels amazing. We are visiting in the right season. Those who come in February or March may not see such views. So I would say, if you ever plan to visit Antarctica, come at the start of the season.

We have reached the landing site. Look, there is a penguin right there. Perhaps this will be our last landing on mainland Antarctica. All around us are icebergs and large penguin colonies. It is an incredible sight.

For the Polar Plunge, they have kept towels ready. Four people go at a time, jump into the water and quickly come out. I am not going to jump; I am here to enjoy photography and nature.

Some older people went first – very brave of them. But honestly, I noticed that some people drank alcohol before jumping. That probably makes it easier to gather courage!

I was standing a little away from the crowd, making a video. I want you to do one thing – just watch this view for 20–25 seconds. Do not skip. Just watch. It is so peaceful. So beautiful. The air is pure, the atmosphere is pure.

There is such a huge penguin colony here. I have seen penguin colonies before, but never in such large numbers. Everywhere you look, there are penguins. After this, we may rarely see penguins again in such numbers.

This journey is now moving from penguins towards polar bears. Perhaps you have never seen such a view in your life – glaciers all around, penguins everywhere, my Zodiac moving quietly, and only the sound of the engine breaking the silence.

Our cruise ship is now close. Another large cruise left quickly without even stopping here. Now we are leaving mainland Antarctica and returning to the Zodiac. Our ship may depart from here today. Next, we will cross the Drake Passage – which is a very tough zone. I will tell you more about it later.

Antarctica’s wind is extremely dangerous. The Earth is round, and Antarctica is at the bottom. Winds circulate around it in three ways. Some winds slide down from the top of the continent – these are called katabatic winds. Their speed can reach up to 300 km per hour. The highest recorded speed here is 327 km per hour. A person weighing 90 kg like me could literally be blown away and thrown far by such winds.

Now it is time for our last Antarctica ritual. We must not take any soil from here. This is our final ritual. I am returning my safety jacket after using it for 20 days. Now we are heading back upstairs. My hands are freezing because every time I need to switch my phone on or off, I have to remove my gloves.

And that is how we say goodbye to Antarctica.

I have changed my clothes and we are late for dinner. There has been an announcement for dinner, so we are heading there now. Here, announcements are normally made for meals. First, we will have dinner, and after that there will be a briefing. Perhaps an important decision will be shared, because we still have four days left on the cruise.

So here comes some bad news. During the briefing, the officer informed us that a very big storm is coming. The route we take on our return is called the Drake Passage. Many of you must have heard about it. Around Antarctica there is no land to block the winds, so the winds keep circulating continuously. Because of this, the Southern Ocean keeps moving violently as well. A major storm is approaching, with waves expected to reach 12–14 metres.

Our cruise ship is a small expedition vessel, and it cannot handle such massive waves. Therefore, the captain announced that we will leave two days earlier than scheduled. Instead of staying four more days, we are departing early for safety.

In these 20–22 days, we built such strong bonds with people from different countries. We talked, played cards, and spent time together. I cannot show everything due to privacy, but it was a wonderful experience. Now tonight we will begin crossing the Drake Passage, and in the next 48–72 hours we should reach Argentina. The final few hours may be very rough. If we had delayed by two days, we would have been stuck in 12–14 metre waves.

I will not sleep in my cabin tonight. I will go to the back end of the ship, where there is slightly less rolling. I did the same when we crossed earlier. I will continue this video until we reach Ushuaia and keep showing you whatever happens on the way.

The next day: the sea is calm, though it is raining. We are travelling through the 800 km stretch between Antarctica and Argentina known as the Drake Passage, one of the most dangerous sea routes in the world. Sometimes it is calm and called the “Drake Lake”. When it is rough, it becomes extremely dangerous, with waves reaching 15–20 metres.

For the first 24 hours, things were manageable. But later, conditions worsened. I slept at the back of the ship. Even with three blankets, it was freezing. The winds reached 130–140 km per hour. The ship was shaking badly.

For 24 hours, I barely moved from my bed. Waves were about 7 metres high and lasted nearly 10 hours. The Drake Passage is truly horrible. Even slight movement caused nausea. I took tablets, but it did not fully help.

We have now spent around 60 hours at sea. About 48 hours were spent directly crossing the Drake Passage. Even after crossing, I still felt nauseous. We are now close to Ushuaia, but the outer gates of the ship remain closed due to strong winds of nearly 100 km per hour. In the final six hours, waves were 8 metres high. The ship tilted up to 40 degrees at times. Normally it tilts around 25–30 degrees, but this was extreme. Winds were around 120–130 km per hour.

This was the most dangerous sea I have ever experienced in my entire journey. If we had arrived during the peak storm, waves could have reached 14 metres — imagine water rising as high as a three- or four-storey building and trying to sail through it. Almost impossible.

We officially dock tomorrow morning. Today the ship arrived early to avoid the storm. Police escort boats are still present because the weather remains severe.

Today is our last day on the ship. There was a special dinner and programme. The captain presented us with completion certificates, and then we had a small celebration on the deck bar. And yes — we survived the Drake Passage. We are alive!

After living together for 20–25 days with 70–80 people, strong friendships naturally formed. Some people became emotional while saying goodbye. We are travellers, so we move on, but the memories stay.

They gave us a certificate mentioning my name, the departure from Ushuaia, stepping onto the Antarctic continent, visits to South Georgia and the Falkland Islands, along with official signatures. They also gifted us a small model of the boat and a pen drive containing the full itinerary and photographs taken during the expedition.

For the final dinner, it was special because it was our last night onboard.

Across from Ushuaia, on the Chilean side, you can see Puerto Williams. It is often called the southernmost town in the world. Very small, with only a few houses.

Finally, we reached Ushuaia — our last point. The weather is terrible: –1°C with rain. Now the question is how to unload the bicycle and luggage in this rain.

Welcome back to Ushuaia. In the rain, both my bicycle Dhanno and I are struggling. First, we will reach the hostel, then I will speak more.

Let me show you something. This small ship was our cruise, and look at the massive cruise ship next to it. Compare the two! We travelled to Antarctica and back in this small expedition vessel. It feels like a miracle.

As they say, when God is kind, even the impossible becomes possible. Surviving this journey was only possible because of your blessings and support. Otherwise, in such conditions, it felt almost impossible.