Monthly Archives: November 2011

The most southerly ship on the planet

Posted on November 28, 2011 by

On Friday, back in our harbour in the fast ice between Capes Royds and Evans on Ross Island, we realised we are the most southerly ship on the planet. To get here this early in the season we’ve had to … Continue reading →

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Scott’s hut on Cape Evans

Posted on November 24, 2011 by

So far, the geology on this trip has faced some stiff competion from history and penguins, but on tuesday it came into its own. We moved across McMurdo Sound overnight and into the fast ice on the west coast, ready … Continue reading →

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Reaching Shackleton’s expedition hut

Posted on November 23, 2011 by

Taking a circuitous route through the pack ice, we finally made it to Frankin Island at 76 degrees south. We got the ship to within 5 miles, then flew in by helicopter, landing on the sea ice at the southeastern … Continue reading →

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Land ahoy!

Posted on November 21, 2011 by

Monday 21st November Our captivity in the ice didn’t last as long as we expected. After an hour or so, just as we were beginning to discuss who to eat first, we were released from the ice. We pressed on … Continue reading →

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Stranded on the ice floes

Posted on November 18, 2011 by

Tom Sharpe continues his journey in the footsteps of Captain Scott, on the 100th anniversary of Scott’s journey to the South Pole… Friday 18 November As the ice charts showed, we reached the edge of the pack ice on schedule, … Continue reading →

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Breaking through the Ross Sea ice

Posted on November 17, 2011 by

We’re breaking through the Ross Sea pack ice at the moment – the ice shelf was named after Captain Sir James Clark Ross who first discovered it in 1841. The Ross Ice Shelf was a popular starting point for early … Continue reading →

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Sharpe of the Antarctic

Posted on November 16, 2011 by

Following in the footsteps of Scott It’s a hundred years since Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s ill fated expedition to Antarctica, and the anniversary is being marked by many events this year and next. I’m currently on my way to visit … Continue reading →

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Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink – the future for water?

Posted on November 9, 2011 by

The problem Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner faced, becalmed in the middle of the ocean, was that despite ‘water, water, everywhere’, none of it was suitable for drinking. The average human can survive for only a few days without access to clean … Continue reading →

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What a carve-up!

Posted on November 3, 2011 by

Not far from Burlington House stands Economist Plaza, home to the famous magazine of that name, and known to architects as the first building in the UK to be faced with the Portland Roach.  That’s the limestone full of distinctive hollows … Continue reading →

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