It is finally boarding day, though not without some twists and turns. Check out of the hotel at 11:00am, wait around for a "city tour" starting at 13:00 and finally at 16:00 we are at the port boarding our ship the Greg Mortimer, and getting the first look at our cabin and the other ship board facilities.

Once on board and settled the guests gathered in the "lounge room" for an introduction to the crew, (19 expedition crew who look after the zodiac, kayaks, and all shore excursion and 88 ships crew who are responsible for running the vessel and what they call the "hotel" services).

After the introduction we were led through lifeboat drill.

Eventually the ship leaves the dock and is finally underway heading east along the Beagle Channel towards the open ocean. Meanwhile us guests enjoy dinner, maybe some drinks and most are off to bed before the Beagle Channel is done.

A local pilot is required for the first 4 hours of the run down the Beagle Channel and the entire channel takes about 5 hours.