European Directories' Inspire Antarctic Expedition 2008

Only days ago the sight of our first iceberg brought gasps of admiration from the ship´s company. In the short time that has elapsed we have been amazed by a seemingly endless display of breaching humpback whales, hunting orcas, porpoise-ing penguins and every variety of seal imaginable, sometimes reclining on icebergs, at others lounging on frozen beaches. Perhaps most spectacular of all, the explosive destruction of an iceberg that thundered across the bay below as Nick Whitfield manfully attempted to hold our attention with discussions around leadership. Indeed, it seems that Nick is destined to be usurped by nature; the tail fin of a whale, the play of sunlight on a towering granite mountainside or the visit of a leopard seal.

The weather has also been kind to us but in different ways. On our first day ashore, our zodiacs were swept inland by 40 knot winds and driving snow, showing us the destructive potential of Antarctica. The very next day we set foot on the continent proper and the world is made of the brightest possible blues and whites, reflecting under a blazing sun. It is a feast for the senses and, combined with Robert´s inimitable pronouncements and the sometime eccentric announcements from the bridge, we feel as though we have been in this strange and wonderful place forever. “Bronco 5” has become the bizarrest possible addition to the vocabulary of those handling English as a second language and we eat gargantuan portions in the galley in a state of permanent anticipation that we will be told to; “Get it down your necks and get on deck” to witness yet another spectacle that upstages the last. We are on a state of pleasant amber alert.

Today – although it´s hard to separate the whole experience into 24 hour blocks – saw us camping out above a penguin colony in -6 degrees centigrade and then passing through Lemaire Passage, a narrow gorge between towering cliffs interspersed by fractured glaciers, that reminded more than a few expedition-ers of a scene from Homer´s Odyssey. When it seems things can get no better, our hosts the humpback whales put in a spectacular appearance and we begin to wonder what else we could possibly see in this astonishing place. It´s a cliché to say that neither words, nor even pictures, can convey the feeling of experiencing these things at first hand.

Personally, I find the strangest sensation of all is my inability to visualize the absence of human activity in this land, which covers the area of Australia twice over. We are 100 hands, all in, and it seems the world of our ship M.V. Ushuaia is a busy place. But somehow I must comprehend that, besides our own little industry, is a vast tract where not a single human being has made a home for more than a few fleeting moments. It is weird to encounter a place that allows us now to enjoy its secrets, but so obviously on sufferance. Of course this is the whole point of 2041 (expiration date of a moratorium on mineral exploitation of Antartica) and Robert´s environmental obsessions but it doesn´t enter the urban mind easily.

Wishing all the family a Happy Easter at home in England.

They say that only 150,000 people have visited Antarctica and it’s easy to see why. After 30 hours in an airplane we reached Ushuaia, “The end of the world” and yet only the jump off point for a two day voyage across the dreaded Drake’s Passage. This is clearly a place that values its privacy and, as we make landfall, we have been told to disinfect our boots as though our very presence is trespass.

In the event, our voyage is benign and, after a day of gentle swells, our arrival in frozen waters is punctuated, first by a school of rare fin whales blowing off all around the ship and then, after the captain mysteriously stalls the ship during lunch, we walk out on deck to be confronted by a glacial blue ice berg standing mere meters from the bow! It looks like a majestic sentinel, either welcoming us to the wilderness or forewarning us, depending on one’s frame of mind. The bird life has also now increased and our friends the albatrosses have been joined by petrels and other fowl coming from the South Shetland Islands to check us out.

On board, we are all, citizens of 25 countries, full of excitement and anticipation. Tomorrow we explore Antarctica.

With much love to Deborah, Felicia, little adventurer Oliver, Annabel and Seb. Wishing you were all hear to share these extraordinary moments.

Joff’s initial thoughts on climate change…

Over a period of 2-3 years I lived in the rainforests of Borneo and Central America and saw extensive logging destruction and what appeared to be consequent seasonal climate disruption – although it’s hard to be sure the two were connected.