Team TCJ

So, what about Christmas? Well, the temperature was around 24°C. We were a little over three hundred miles to the west of northern Namibia and the sea was pretty calm although there was a freshening breeze from the south which made us pitch slightly more than we have recently experienced. Having said that, it certainly didn’t dampen the celebrations which were conducted with great energy and…

Christmas Day on SA Agulhas   It has been a long day, but what a day! Breakfast at 7.30 was a simple affair but included homemade bread and cakes. My admiration for the catering team under chef, Mogamat Khan, and chief steward, Clint van Rooy, is boundless. They have performed miracles every day and today they surpassed themselves. Before I go into a description of the day’s activities, it…

Merry Christmas everyone! Just had the treat of hearing Anton Bowring speak live from the ship on Radio 5 Live with Colin Murray. He did very well, but sadly the comms went down after about 5 mins just as he was about to mention the website and Seeing is Believing. It’s 25C and sunny where they are today, 300 miles west of Namibia. Due to arrive in Cape Town later in the week. Anton may b…

Spencer Smirl is the Ice Team’s lead mechanic (and a proud Canadian). He will be flying out to Cape Town later this month: “Enjoyed an interesting day of medical examinations on Tuesday in London. We spent the day participating in a variety of tests to provide a base measurement for the human studies we will be completing in Antarctica. The eye tests were the most interesting. We had very…

Thank you to all the people who made yesterday possible, and to everyone who has supported us so far. It’s been a long time coming, but the SA Agulhas’s departure down the Thames yesterday afternoon marked the beginning of an epic adventure, and is the first major milestone of many more to come. Thank you also for all of the wonderful messages of support and praise which you have showered our…

The last few days have passed in a bit of a blur. Most of the team have been working together for several months; however, having just returned from a year away with the British Antarctic Survey, this weekend provided me with my first opportunity to meet them all in the flesh. It was with plenty of excitement and some trepidation that I arrived on Friday at Canary Wharf, where it was all hands…

It’s 7am on Saturday, 24th November. I’m checking my emails before heading out of the door to meet Ian Prickett and Brian Newham at the warehouse for 9am. The cabooses and sledges are arranged in a train down the centre of the massive space. The rain drips from the cracks in the roof as is hammers down outside. No breaks and no tea for the first 5 hours. I crack on with building the scienc…

Hi everyone. I am currently enjoying my final three weeks in Canada for the next while. After working and training heavily in the UK for five weeks in early fall , I needed to return home and say my farewells and tie up the last of my loose ends. The -25C chill of the morning air as I awoke today filled me with excitement for my approaching adventure. I will be returning to the UK in a week to…

I can honestly say that it is FAR more comfortable being in an ice chamber at -58C wearing four pairs of trousers, two pairs of socks, one and a half pairs of gloves, goggles, insulated snow boots, two sets of thermal hats, an ear buff, three tops and one of the thickest down jackets available to man, than it is wearing the above at room temperature. It was a godsend just to get in the freezer.

Well, we’ve made it. After a hideously early start, Tris and I hurtled down the M1 to arrive at the testing site for 7.45am, where we met the rest of the team and the guys from Millbrook. Ran turned up five minutes later having driven down from Gleneagles, setting off at 1am. After a quick breakfast in the warm canteen we’ve shifted down to the preparation room outside the cold chamber. This…