Fernham Oxfordshire

Nicola of the Antarctic

Nicola Young of Fernham is back from the 2041 Inspire Antarctic Expedition 2008. She left Fernham on Tuesday, 11 March for the trip of a lifetime, and visited parts of the Antarctic with polar explorer Robert Swan and 40 team members.

Robert Swan's organisation 2041 promotes the use of renewable energy. He believes that we can only safeguard the Antarctic through the widespread use of renewable energy to slow global warming and reduce the pressure to mine for scarce energy resources . The moratorium on Antarctic mining is up for re-negotiation in the year 2041.

Cabin 208 blog

Nicola and her cabin mate Ines Rupprecht have been blogging their expedition adventures. Here are a few snippets from their postings:

18 March - In the open ocean
Today it is very windy and there has been snow and ice all night. The ship couldnīt stay in the bay as it was too rough and there was a risk that we would be blown onto the rocks. So we went further out and they tell us that they had to ensure they avoided the icebergs being blown our way during the night. Now sat waiting for my first Zodiac trip and it doesnīt look that appealing as itīs very choppy and minus eighteen out there. I think I am wearing just about everything I have.

20 March - Charcot Bay
We were completely in awe/shock when the large iceberg just behind the ship in the bay literally started cracking and thundering and just disintegrated into the water with only a fraction of its former self remaining. My heart was absolutely in my mouth – mainly because it had taken a few seconds to associate the roaring noise with the iceberg and not the slope we were sat on happily enjoying the view (we had witnessed an avalanche yesterday) and I expected to be rolling down the slope....

22 March - Port Lockroy
The rules of the Antarctic are that you cannot approach any closer to a penguin than 5 metres – they donīt know this and soon wander all around you – something to note about penguins - you bring more than the memory of the penguins back with you as the smell is so pungent that it stays in your nostrils long after you have left the island.

27 March - Drake Passage
Seems like we get the full Antarctic package. After lovely days with so many wildlife and gorgeous weather we are now on our way back in the Drake Passage. As expected very rough sea. In fact: we hit a storm with more than 60 knots wind (more than 100km/h), waves between 6 and 10 metres, wind force eleven (Hurricane strength). It makes everything fly around the ship, inclusive ourselves. The ship gets constantly lifted out of the water and returns back feels like it will break apart....

Seeing the ship nose diving deep in the waves is spectacular. The rolling makes the stomach a bit weak but I am doing well (compared to others who stayed in bed last two days). The night was a nightmare – furniture flew around and I had to put my mattress on the floor where I was sliding on it from one side to another. No one really slept last night. What started as an adventure turned out to be quite scary to everyone.