Ok this will have to be quick. Off to Antarctica in a few hours. From now on everything gets hazy. Our path, communications everything. I will probably still be able to get a file uploaded once a day... conditions permitting.

The way to Antarctica should be smooth. We'll be sailing around a storm but it should be ok. We got a nice warning today about what happens if one of us happens to fall overboard... yeah...

Ok wish us the best and the next transmission will hopefully be from Antarctic.

A few hours later…

Circles and circles. Everything’s going in circles. The mountains rushing us by, the waves up and down, side to side. My head in circles one way and my insides the other. Circles bending me in four different directions around five different axels. Circles.

We’ve launched and I’m at sea. The mix of jet lag, sea sickness medication and waves is actually very soothing, makes you feel like you’re on one of those coin operated message chairs. Of course we’re still on the Beagle Channel… it’ll take us a few more hours to reach Drake’s Passage. So we have a few more hours of calm until we have to tie everything down, including our stomachs.

You really feel like the expedition’s started. Things are happening. Smoke and steam, hatches and bunks. The ship’s really interesting. For the most part it's a Russian scientific ship that travels around the world mapping the ocean floor. It basically uses sound waves to bounce off the floor to do the mapping. But apparently because the Russians need a bit of extra cash they lend out their ship for use in expeditions. It’s quite a funny looking ship, looks like a floating low-rise apartment building. The crew is mainly made up of Russians and the whole place feels very much like a James Bond movie.

Our environmental experts had a chat with us today. Started teaching us about the horrors of CO2 and the marvels of sustainability. We kind of got a taste of the different stories behind CO2 and sustainability; I’ll fill you in as they evolve.  We also got the first of Robert Swan’s Antarctica lectures. He told us the story of his trip to the South Pole. Man what a story. Skiing across ice while pulling 180 kg sleds, going through mountain passes on the footsteps of Shackleton. There were airlifts and sinking ships, international intrigue and Jacques Cousteau. There was even a Chilean refueling effort run by a  
Sr. Pedro Envierra (I actually just made this name up… forgot the real one) who along with his fuel were air-dropped in the middle of Antarctica so Robert and his team could refuel their plane on their way to rescue their stranded team members. The bushy-bearded Sr.Envierra was in turn left stranded in the middle of Antarctica and can still be found running around the icy continent (you can see some of his videos through www.2041.com). But you know what the crazy thing is? It took Robert seven years of effort to raise funds for this trip, seven years. What did he do for seven years? He drove a taxi in  
London. His whole two years in Antarctica, all the drama the starvation the deprivation, all of that stuff is really just the tip of the iceberg. To what extent was the success of his trek to the South Pole built on seven years of privation? Maybe someone that had an easier time getting to Antarctica would have had an easier time giving up. The part of what he did that shines and everyone can see is only a fraction all the work that went into what he did.

I think we’re getting close to the Drake’s Passage. I feel the waves starting to pick up the tempo.

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