Antarctic Expedition: The Circle
We paddled across the Antarctic Circle a couple of days ago. It's spot marked on a map - but on the ocean there is, of course, no feature to mark its presence.
It has been said that polar expeditions are a useless exercise that serve no purpose. Paddling to an unmarked spot on a featureless ocean certainly felt a little pointless.
However on the up side, expeditions are without doubt a celebration of human endeavor. There is something special about a small team of friends working towards a common goal, taking on carefully calculated risks in a hostile environment, and doing so safely. It's also a heck of a lot better than staying at home and watching TV.
In measuring the success of this expedition, we've had a short time to reflect on what's happened over the past weeks. We didn't get quite as far south as we had hoped. However, we paddled around 800km along the harshest and most inhospitable coastline in the world. We did so safely, without a re-supply, and in the face of difficult conditions. We returned as friends. We had an awesome time in one of the most incredible places on the planet. Sounds like success to me.
After contacting our extraction crew on the 'Spirit of Sydney', we were picked up from Darbel Bay around 40 hours ago. Since then we've been sailing home - straight into the teeth of an Antarctic gale. It was pretty rough, and not the sort of weather you want to tackle in a kayak. The wind vane froze up as the meter hit 40kts, however things continued to get rougher and 50kts was the consensus from the mob on board. Frozen rigging and horizontal snow added to the 'fun' (which it is not, I have to say).
Right now we are taking a breather at Palmer Station, an American base at the southern end of Anvers Island. We'll wait for a weather window that looks OK and make the dash across the Drake Passage to Ushuaia (Argentina). It's getting very late in the season and the March gales are upon us, so here's hoping for a smooth ride home.
It has been said that polar expeditions are a useless exercise that serve no purpose. Paddling to an unmarked spot on a featureless ocean certainly felt a little pointless.
However on the up side, expeditions are without doubt a celebration of human endeavor. There is something special about a small team of friends working towards a common goal, taking on carefully calculated risks in a hostile environment, and doing so safely. It's also a heck of a lot better than staying at home and watching TV.
In measuring the success of this expedition, we've had a short time to reflect on what's happened over the past weeks. We didn't get quite as far south as we had hoped. However, we paddled around 800km along the harshest and most inhospitable coastline in the world. We did so safely, without a re-supply, and in the face of difficult conditions. We returned as friends. We had an awesome time in one of the most incredible places on the planet. Sounds like success to me.
After contacting our extraction crew on the 'Spirit of Sydney', we were picked up from Darbel Bay around 40 hours ago. Since then we've been sailing home - straight into the teeth of an Antarctic gale. It was pretty rough, and not the sort of weather you want to tackle in a kayak. The wind vane froze up as the meter hit 40kts, however things continued to get rougher and 50kts was the consensus from the mob on board. Frozen rigging and horizontal snow added to the 'fun' (which it is not, I have to say).
Right now we are taking a breather at Palmer Station, an American base at the southern end of Anvers Island. We'll wait for a weather window that looks OK and make the dash across the Drake Passage to Ushuaia (Argentina). It's getting very late in the season and the March gales are upon us, so here's hoping for a smooth ride home.
