12 Feb 2016

2 Feb Voyage: Shokalskiy Circle Crossed

We crossed the line of 66.3 degrees south a little earlier than expected at 0030hrs and a few keen expeditioners were on the bridge for the occasion. At 1000 mulled wine was served to toast our achievements thus far and remember those who had gone before. Explorers such as James Clark Ross, Robert Falcon Scott, Sir Ernest Shackleton, Roald Amundsen, Sir Douglas Mawson, Richard Byrd and Sir Edmund Hilary were top of mind as Expedition Leader Rodney Russ asked the group to make the following vow:

Having endured the privations of the Roaring Forties, the rigors of the Furious Fifties and the ice strewn waters of the Screaming Sixties to cross the Antarctic Circle, we pay homage to those early explorers who have not only shown the way but have demonstrated what it means to advocate for the continued protection of Antarctica and its wildlife.  I promise I will, until I take my last expedition, advocate to everybody, even those who will not listen, the importance of the Antarctic and its wildlife.

We are scheduled to arrive at Cape Adare at 0130 tomorrow, and weather pending we will make the first of many landings during our 12 days in the region. The ship is alive in anticipation of adventures to come!