Despite learning how to solve complex celestial navigation problems for the U.S.C.G. license exam on paper, one does not actually need to hold a sextant to their eye on a pitching schooner in heavy seas. One does not have to find an island in the dark after nearly 3000 miles of working the wind. This is why I went. This is what I will always hold in my memory. It is an untouchable gift. A skill. An art. Time powered by the lungs of the planet’s weather systems; stars, new friends…

Most of the extraordinary stories and heroic efforts that went into this installation will remain invisible to the world. At the end of this big lift, we’ve now added one small stream of data to a vast global monitoring system. An ear for the whole planet, listening to what travels below the threshold of our human senses.

“Now, it’s our turn to do all the work…” we mistakenly think, as we begin to locate and organize equipment and tools. The Pelagic crew aboard Amundsen, however, were incredibly keen to boot up with us every single day. […]

In the stillness, Vinson drifts, her engines in neutral, a quiet hum in the background. We all hold our breath. A metre off our stern a Humpback whale glides just below the surface, her calf follows slightly further out. It’s as if she is simultaneously checking us out whilst teaching her child that we humans are no longer to be feared. […]

Antarctica is another world. Calm, serene, vast and peaceful. It has been an amazing privilege to spend the last couple of weeks here, observing the wildlife, exploring icebergs, mountains and islands. […]

[…] What a summit!  A flat spacious space to relax and enjoy the luminous immensity of the Antarctic Peninsula on a perfect morning.  Brilliant sunshine as far as you could see.

In the early hours of 5th January in my bunk I could feel the wind and seas getting up and felt some of the trepidation I’d felt in the North Pacific: ‘Reluctant watch prepares to face the wind and rain…’, but this time I thought ‘This is exactly what I’ve come for!’ Wrapped up as tightly as I could, with rubbery fisherman’s gloves, I took the helm. It was great. Force 6 and occasionally gusting 7, I reckoned, with some waves coming slightly to the stern.

[…] Where we can share in the richness of human experience, labour shares, share in hope for the future and the reciprocity and joy of shared friendships. Pelagic Expeditions have been a good friend to the Falklands – following a long maritime tradition of visiting vessels. We couldn’t have press ganged a better crew into our restoration work this summer. Much gratitude to the good ship Vinson and our new found friends.

[…] As we have lost so much tussac habitat in the Falklands- the sites are scattered and the only way to get to the seed is by boat. Vinson carried us to nearby islands where we could collect from isolated stands and so feed into a more robust and genetically diverse collection. […]

[…] Getting from the Amundsen to the shore is a whole activity in itself. Weather changes in the blink of an eye with 30-40 knot gusts appearing out of nowhere. […]

[…] The time passed quickly though, listening to all the old sea dogs; Hamish, Jerome and Skip telling bewildering and amusing stories of the past decades spent on the island. How the times have changed. All the young bucks saying, “Darn, we were born in the wrong era!”. […]

[…] To regress, when various people often refer to me quite wrongly as the most or at best ‘one of the most’ experienced Southern Ocean sailors, I immediately point out I am still a beginner – compared to Jerome […]

[…] Blessed by the perfect combination of mountains, sea, wildlife (in the water, on the beaches, and in the sky) and truly great companions, both skiers and crew, South Georgia, retains its crown of my favourite place on Earth.  I think Emily Shackleton was right to request that her husband was buried here.

[…] we went back up the Turnback Glacier and over the Breakwind Gap, where Shackleton, Worsely, and Crean could see the recognizable ‘zed stone,’ a folded strata above Stromness Bay and where they heard the 0630 whistle calling the whalers to work […]

[…] A final climb and we were on the watershed, looking down into Stromness Bay.  Despite the sunshine, it was bitterly cold, so there was no relaxed picnic: just a moment to savour the emotive view – the view which told them in 1916 that they really had made it. […]

[…] John provided light, local anesthesia and a needle. Mark set to it, with a reassuring professionalism some doctors could emulate. I don’t know if it was morbid fascination or a desire to learn but we all craned and stretched to watch the proceedings. […]

[…] Speculation, some doubt, renewed enthusiasm when the sun makes an appearance - all very similar (excepting the digital world) to the golden era of polar exploration when the weather halts all forward progress.

[…] But tonight, a quiet boat with most of the guests sleeping after their first dinner at sea, reminds us we are back to the ultimate purpose of the boats. We are on an expedition, and we are taking people to discover such a remote and unique world.

Marco Grandi is our metal fabrication mastermind and a key partner for each year’s annual refit. Grandi Manufacturing operates like an extension of the expedition team – fortifying the boats for the fierce conditions they’ll face in the Southern Ocean. […]

[..] I found it totally fascinating how it is possible to determine the current location with a sextant and skill and patience without any electronic aids. I'm already looking forward to determining a position with a sextant again. […]