At Sea, sailing west to the Falklands
We are crossing the Antarctic Convergence, midway between the jagged icebound mountains of South Georgia and the rolling moorland sheepwalks of the Falklands. This convergence is where the Polar meets the Pacific, where cold, rich currents meet warm, leaner waters. Three wandering albatross were with us all day, leaving their nests in the snow-sprinkled tussock grass to seek food off Cape Horn. Tiny twisting prions, small tattooed seabirds, joined us in the same westward quest for food. Across our bows, racing in zigzag arcs, were a stream of Soft-plumaged Petrels from Tristan da Cunha heading south across the Convergence to find richer food sources. In crossing this boundary we leave the ecological domain of Antarctica, a transition from the untrammeled purity of the polar regions to the domesticated and civilized. We make a reluctant departure. Somehow when you have lived with the wild and wonderful, the cozy and comfortable seem inadequate, unchallenging, almost trite. In tackling the extreme conditions of Antarctica we have been forged into tight-knit, self-sufficient waterborne community, tested at times to the limit by wind, waves (and wildlife!)
But there have been several other convergences in this extraordinary voyage. We have had a Social Convergence in which folk of many backgrounds have found common ground in the quest for adventure. This has produced much laughter, surprising stories, and a common delight in the wonders of a new world. The hubbub in lounge, dining room, and Zodiac is proof of our newly-minted team spirit. There has also been a Cultural Convergence, for we are people of many nations, who met on a continent where there are no national borders or boundaries. So no subjects are off limits, no politics sacred, nothing but a daily delight in our differences and our obvious brotherhood. Kiwi sits with Canadian; Frenchman thanks Filipino, Croatian helps Italian, Russian explains to American, Brit takes tea with Argentinian. All races, but no-one trying to win that race, for we all started together and will all cross the finishing line shoulder to shoulder. We have become a United Nation, just like the continent behind us, where there are no armies, no passports, just a shared passion for common science and common sense.
But none of our achievements would have been possible without a Professional Convergence. For this extraordinary little ship has braved ice, storm, deep water, and shoal, all provisioned, piloted and maintained by an unrivalled expedition team who leave nothing to chance, but attend to daily duties with utter concentration. Here the professional skills of navigator, engineer, icemaster, and expedition leader all converge to take us into the wildest wilderness on the planet, and more importantly, to bring us safely home again. We salute the entire team, key members of whom are seen here at tonight’s evening recap where they answered our searching questions as to how they made it all seem so easy.
