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Southern Ocean Motion – by Geoff Long

Southern Ocean Motion - by Geoff Long

Well it’s a week since we left Cape Town and the oven baked sides of Table Mountain seem a world away as we plod south at somewhere between 8 and 11 knots, buffeted by strong winds and swells of 5m+. At the current latitude of around 53o South, our target of 70o still seems a very long way off, with the next 17 degrees (approx. 1000 nautical miles) expected to take us another week. In addition,…

First Ice Berg Spotted!

First Ice Berg Spotted!

Sighted this morning at 53deg 19mins S on the Greenwich meridian. Photo by Geoff Long…

Jack of All Trades

Jack of All Trades

Geoff Long reports from aboard the SA Agulhas about his multi-faceted role within the expedition about leaving home, helping Ran find his kit and selling our story to the South Africans… It seems incredible that it is only 12 days since I left the UK, shortly after the hectic run-up to Christmas and the associated mad rush around the country to visit relatives. So much has happened sinc…

Latest Map of the Ice

Latest Map of the Ice

(by Brian Newham) You might like the latest ice image – it’s changed quite a lot since we lasted posted in mid-Dec. Ice still extends about 150 miles off the coast but it looks quite broken and there appears to be an obvious breach in our area of interest – we are aiming to make landfall at approx S70 E023. Currently, we are still up at around S48 so we aren’t quite on this map yet but I’v…

Abandon Ship!

Abandon Ship!

We have been at sea now for 5 days. It seems like way longer though. Surprisingly I have managed to fend of Sea Sickness. Everybody has. I have been cheating though. For the first three days I was popping cyclozene tabs like they were tic-taks. I have weaned myself down to just a morning tab. Just in case. The first day was definitely one of the most interesting days of the five. As I had stayed…

An Alternative Take of Life on the Agulhas

An Alternative Take of Life on the Agulhas

Jill Bowring (Anton’s wife and expedition education liaison officer) wrote the following message to her friends and family. When we spotted it at Operations HQ we convinced her to allow us to use it on here, albeit in a slightly censored version! It gives an alternative, and very funnty, take of life on board SA Agulhas. Hope you enjoy… “Good Evening All, After a day and half of flat calm…

“Bird-watching” by Jill Bowring

“Bird-watching” by Jill Bowring

We started on the second day out of Cape Town after Adrian McCallum, our resident scientist from Australia, set the hours from 9-10, 2-3pm and 7-8pm for the task, and encouraged as many as possible to join in. It turned out to be quite a social activity, especially since there were practically no birds to spot. It is well known that once you have left coastal waters with the terns, cormorants and…

All at Sea

All at Sea

ALL AT SEA – by Anton Bowring We have reached the Roaring Forties. We are at 42°S to be precise. If you read the Admiralty Pilot Book, it describes the area we are entering thus: “…rough seas are common in all seasons, becoming very high or even phenomenal during the passage of the deep E-moving depressions. Maximum wave heights are thought to be around 25m over most of this mainly W-wind…

Circuit Training before G&Ts

Circuit Training before G&Ts

Ian Prickett’s first blog, written from his cabin aboard SA Agulhas: We are finally underway and heading for The Ice. What a huge relief that we are actually onboard as at times this summer, it never looked as if we were going to make it! I have only been fully involved for the last year, but what an interesting and eye-opening time it has been. My position in this expedition originally began…

Special Edition Envelopes

Special Edition Envelopes

Ian Prickett with the first of 1000 special edition Coldest Journey envelopes to sign, which will be stamped and franked at the Belgian Princess Elizabeth Station upon arrival. The envelopes are being signed by the whole team and will be available to buy at a later day. The money raised will go towards funding the remaining costs of the expedition, with any surplus going to Seeing is Believing…

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