Antarctic Cruise Day 13/40 - sea day - why are they called flying fish?

Antarctic Cruise Day 13 / 40 - sea day 1/11 - the fish were a-flyin'...

Trip day: 13 / 40

Port days: 6
Sea days: 6
Countries: 3
Continents: 2
Ports: 3

This morning, after breakfast, I attended the daily wildlife watch on the bow.  It was a good day to see flying fish.  Fish flying?  Yup - this relative of the sardine propels itself out of the water, "flying" above the surface of the water.  Some think it is a fright response, and there seems to be something to that. We saw a "carpet" of silver in the distance and it was hundreds of flying fish all out of the water simultaneously.  Then, we saw splashes behind them.  The naturalist said it was likely tuna that were hunting for a meal.

Here are a few of the shots I got today.

They leave quite a takeoff run mark in the water

I watched this one fly and then impact the water...but...

It immediately popped back up and continued flying

Then, it was time for trivia once again.  This time, there were two guest teams and a team of the best and brightest from the crew.  Once again, we successfully defended our trivia title with the help of new teammates.  Our misses:

• What soft drink was invented in 1885 in Waco, Texas by a young pharmacist?
• We thought it might be Dr. Pepper as Atlanta is generally known for Coke but in the end, we decided it was likely Coke.  Nope – Dr. Pepper.  Coke didn’t come around until 1892.
• When was Walt Disney born (1898, 1901, 1903)?
• We guessed 1898 – it was 1901
• What is the main ingredient in Bombay Duck?
• We took it as a trick question and answered: duck.  Turns out that Bombay duck is actually a fish native to the waters in and around Mumbai.  Who knew?

There was another picture round as well. Look at the clue and determine what it means.

1. Potato (pot + 8 ohs)
2. Mailman
3. Fun in the Sun
4. Wedding bells (wed in bells)
5. Double-decker bus
6. Read all about it
7. American pie
8. Undercover cop

We were rewarded with team appletinis.  Then, we dashed off the Baggo.

It was another spirited guests versus officer competition.  The guests held a slim lead after round #1 from the low stair.  Round #2 proved to be much more difficult, throwing from a higher stair and with your non-dominant hand.  That round was a miserable failure for the guests with only two of us even landing on the board.  The officers turned out to be way more ambidextrous scoring often. Round #3 from the high stair did the officers in with few points scored.  Arlona put the nail in the coffin by putting two in the hole and one on the board, mounting a 2,500-point turnaround in the scoring, for the win!  We scored another round of appletinis from the terrific bar team.

Lunch in the World Cafe is always great. They always have amazing bread baking and it always smells incredible.

During today’s daily briefing, right before resident ornithologist, Christopher gave his talk on World Migratory Bird Day, a barn swallow flew into the window on the Aula, knocking itself out.  Christopher rescued it and kept it until it was ready to fly again.

Tonight, we enjoyed another evening in the Explorers’ Bar, listening to the vocal duo and conversing with friends.

Nice fresh decoration with a nautical theme

A fresh apple martini with muddled apples

The awesome Explorers' Bar team, Aleksandar (Aleks), and Teanne

Tomorrow is another sea day.