IMPORTANT: New time of departure on Thursday

The last few days have passed in a bit of a blur. Most of the team have been working together for several months; however, having just returned from a year away with the British Antarctic Survey, this weekend provided me with my first opportunity to meet them all in the flesh. It was with plenty of excitement and some trepidation that I arrived on Friday at Canary Wharf, where it was all hands…

Dear All Please accept our apologies for the lack of blogs over the last few days – it’s certainly not as though we have not had a lot to write about! The trouble is there is no permanent internet connection at the warehouse, where we have all been preparing the equipment for loading onto the ship. So, we’ve been having to make do with our mobiles to connect, which has had its own trials and…

Dear Members of the Public, As you may have realised by the website’s homepage countdown, the launch date is very fast approaching. The SA Agulhas, our expedition ship, is due to arrive in the Docklands tomorrow and then move to moor alongside the HMS Belfast on Monday. She will then set sail at around 5.30pm/6pm on Thursday, 6th December following an on-board media event during the day. We would…

“If you have ever jumped with a parachute you will know how, at first, when the parachute opens, your descent seems slow. It is only as you get close to landing that you realise how fast you are going and suddenly you hit the ground hard. That’s how I feel at the moment. For the past five years that we have been planning the expedition, progress was slow but constant. Now we have only a few days…

Expedition ship SA Agulhas is currently due south of Bournemouth in the English Channel. She should be in London around midday on Thursday. Exciting times ahead! Sourc…

On behalf of Sir Ranulph and the entire team, we would like to extend a heart-felt thank you to all our supporters who have sent messages of support both here and on our Facebook page. Your kind words mean a great deal and help us get through the difficult days. During the traverse they will no doubt be all the more important! Please forgive us for not responding to all messages individually.

Boots fitted at 7.30am at Snow and Rock in Covent Garden. The boss, Fraser Bannatyne, and Martin, the expert boot fitter, arrived very, very early just for me which was extremely kind of them. Am glad I also set out before cock’s crow, since navigation from Trafalgar Square and the ski shop proved extremely difficult as every one way street went in entirely the wrong direction (luckily there ar…

Ian Prickett, caboose builder, welding expert, polar explorer and all round nice guy, lays claim to his favourite bunk. Fair enough though, he did help prepare them. Ran is a little miffed, he reckons the guys are saving the worst one for him. As if they’d be so…

Sir Ran made his first visit to the warehouse today and then spent the next five hours in a sponsor photo shoot. Great organisation skills by Vicky Lewis and Isabel Castle ensured they guys hurtled through the hundred of so sponsors on the to-do list. In this pic we see our wonderful photographer Harriet Wooltorton snapping away at Brian Newham, Robin from Zarges, Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Jo…