Pax Arctica's Blog

2016-11-10T14:28:00.000-08:00

Our adventures continue on PaxArctica.org: follow the latest news, events, releases, film and expeditions, and interact with us on our new blog. We will meet you there!

2015-09-15T15:08:00.002-07:00

United Nations Screening of “The Pursuit Of Endurance"

Last night (Sept 14, 2015) was a very special event for me and over 600 lucky viewers. I had been invited to show my movie, ’THE PURSUIT OF ENDURANCE – On the Shoulders of Shackleton’ at the United Nations. Being able to do this unique screening on the eve of the opening of the 70th Regular Session of the UN General Assembly was a true honor. The event was under the High Patronage of His Excellency François Delattre, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations, who introduced the event. Our host was The Association des Français Fonctionnaires Internationaux de New York (AFFIN), represented by Sibylle Eschapasse. We had a post-film Q&A session with a panel including Paul Walker, Director, Environmental Security and Sustainability, Green Cross International (http://www.gcint.org/) and David Porter, atmospheric and oceanographic research scientist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Columbia University (http://bit.ly/1Ou8U2z) Many questions were asked by children and adults alike about the film, the expedition, the Shackleton Endurance expedition, climate change, the Paris Climate COP21 conference in Paris in December, etc. The event was webcast and here is a link to the UN TV website showing introductory remarks as well as the full Q&A: http://bit.ly/1OVARyu.

From left to right: Luc Hardy, Sibylle Eschapasse (Présidente de l'Association des Français Fonctionnaires Internationaux de New York), Paul walker (Director, Environmental Security and Sustainability, Green Cross International), David Porter (Atmospheric and Oceanographic Research Scientist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory Columbia University) — Photos: Denis Assalit

More info on the film:

TITLE: “THE PURSUIT OF ENDURANCE"

A film by Bertrand Delapierre
Produced by Luc Hardy / Sagax Entertainment
Co-produced by Puzzle Media
Trailer film English: http://ow.ly/Ny7eM
World Premiere at Focus on French Cinema, Greenwich, CT – March 27, 2015: http://www.focusonfrenchcinema.com/
Festival du Film Francophone – Angoulême – August 25-31, 2015 – Official selection: http://bit.ly/1PzITxr

As seen in Variety: http://bit.ly/1EbvC6T

The Pursuit of Endurance
On the Shoulders of Shackleton
Trailer: http://ow.ly/Ny7eM

In the heart of the Antarctic, nine adventurers are about to live an extraordinary story.
They come from very different backgrounds, but one thing brings them together: a passion for adventure and testing the limits.
Their goal: to follow in the footsteps of one of the greatest legends of the golden age of polar exploration: Ernest Shackleton.
In 1914, after the sinking of his shipThe Endurance, this hero saved his entire crew from a certain death.
100 years later our expedition sets out to explore the sub-Antarctic islands of Elephant, South Georgia and the South Sandwich by boat, ski and pulka.
On board the Australis: an expedition leader, a veteran explorer, a former officer, a skipper, a polar guide, a scientist, two young soldiers and an athlete snowboarder.
An expedition to remind us of the fragility of this highly endangered ecosystem, and to improve our understanding of these remote expanses.
With them, you will relive the best but also the most challenging moments of this great adventure.

With the support of SOPRA STERIA (http://www.soprasteria.com/en) and La Française http://www.lafrancaise-group.com/en/home.html

Trailer film English: http://ow.ly/Ny7eM

2015-08-31T06:58:00.001-07:00

Au FFA (Festival du Film Francophone d’Angoulême), il y a aussi de la place pour le débat

CLIMAT “À la poursuite de l’Endurance” a permis de rebondir sur la conference de Paris

Le producteur Luc Hardy a animé le débat (photo Michel Amat). De gauche à droite: Luc Hardy, Nicolas Imbert (DG Green Cross France), Delphine Bathot (Députée des Deux-Sèvres et ancienne Ministre de l’Ecologie et de l’Environnement, Thierry Gortzounian (Secrétaire Général – La Française Group)

Une cinquantaine de personnes dans la salle et une seule star: l’Antarctique… Il n’y a pas que le strass et les paillettes dans la vie du FFA. Hier le documentaire de Bertrand Delapierre “À la poursuite de l’Endurance” était projeté au CGR. Le film raconte l’expédition polaire de neuf aventuriers partis sur les traces d’Ernest Shackleton dont le navire a fait naufrage , il y a près d’un siècle, au large de l’île de l’Elephant. Entre performance sportive et éclairage scientifique, le film a pour ambition de sensibiliser le public au dérèglement climatique. À l’issue de la projection Luc Hardy, le directeur général de Green Cross Nicolas Imbert et l’ancienne ministre Delphine Batho ont lancé le débat avec, en toile de fond, l’échéance de la conférence de Paris sur le climat. Un échange intéressant qui a permis de mesurer l’écart entre ceux qui pensent que la conférence fera bouger les choses et ceux qui restent pessimistes.

Article "Sud Ouest"

2015-08-25T11:32:00.000-07:00

"THE PURSUIT OF ENDURANCE" AT UNITED NATIONS

I am pleased to announce that on the eve of the opening of the 70th Regular Session of the UN General Assembly, a special screening of THE PURSUIT OF ENDURANCE will take place – on 14 September 2015 at the United Nations' headquarters in New York City. The event is free. I hope you can attend. Details below:

"The Pursuit of Endurance" at The United Nations

A film by Bertrand Delapierre
Produced by Luc Hardy / Sagax Entertainment
Co-produced by Puzzle Media
A presentation at the UNITED NATIONS
Under the High Patronage of His Excellency François Delattre, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of France to the United Nations
Hosted by: The Association des Français Fonctionnaires Internationaux de New York (AFFIN)

Introduction: His Excellency François Delattre
Moderator: Ms. Sibylle Eschapasse
Post-film Q+A with Luc Hardy: the film, climate change and the COP21 conference: Luc Hardy
In the presence of a representative from Green Cross International.

– Monday, 14 September 2015
– Start: 6.30 p.m to 8.30 p.m
– Exact Address: United Nations Visitor's entrance on 1st Avenue and 46th Street (Projection Conference Room 4)
– Bring your passport/ID
– Language: English
– Film Running time: 52'
– Please allow time for security check at entrance.
– The event is free

- The event is FREE but to attend, you and your guests must reserve your seats at: http://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-pursuit-of-endurance-at-united-nations-new-york-city-tickets-18099006616?aff=eac2

Greenwich Time : 'captivating' foreign films

2015-04-03T13:43:00.002-07:00

The Focus on French Films festival, now in its 11th year, came again to Greenwich last weekend, captivating us with the ambiance of foreign language films and giving us an appreciation for the creative people who make them.
Renee Amory Ketcham, who chaired the festival, reported the same number of attendees this year as last despite the fact fewer films were shown: "4,500 cinephiles from the tri-state area."
The 20 films with newly added shorts selections were thoughtfully vetted, said Anne Kern, of Riverside, an associate professor of cinema at Suny Purchase, who was involved in choosing the films.
"The French produce 200 films a year," she said. "What we are doing for our festival audience is curating these French films and winnowing them down to choose what pleases and delights our audience."
A survey of last year's festival viewers showed more than a third had attended the festival for five years or more, indicating they approved the choices.
First on my list to see was the premiere of the documentary "The Pursuit of Endurance -- On the Shoulders of Shackleton," an inspiration realized by Luc Hardy, our hometown explorer, entrepreneur and venture capitalist.
Since learning of that great survival tale of explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914 Antarctica expedition aboard the ill-fated ship "Endurance," Hardy determined to trace Shackleton's footsteps. It took him two years to build his team, first enlisting David Hemplemann-Adams, the British first-climber of all seven of the world's highest summits, plus five other men and two women. A sailboat was found, as was a captain able to traverse such a course and cameramen brave enough to capture it all.
Of the courageous females, one was a scientist and another an extreme-sport snowboarder who dazzled viewers as she risked all shooting straight down snow-encrusted mountainsides.
The gorgeous shots of the expedition, showing the explorers' group stretched across vast snowscapes, were accomplished in part with drones, a technology embraced by Hardy. The drones afforded unforgettable images of the masses of seals, penguins and elephant seals on South Georgia Island.
But having the most impact was the sudden and formidable sight of Elephant Island rising out of the ocean in all its dark and fearful grandeur, a jagged mountain of rock, snow and ice where Shackleton's crew managed to survive for five months eating penguins and seals while waiting for rescue.
Other festival film highlights included the slow-moving but architecturally ravishing film "La Sapienza," focused on a Swiss architect in love with the 7th century works of Italian architect Borromini. The story was told in both French and Italian. Over 100 showed up for that one, including U.S. Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., and wife, Mary.
A film set amid the lushness of the Angkor Wat Temple in Cambodia called "The Gate" -- its French title was "Le Temps Des Aveux" -- told the stark story of a French ethnologist captured by the Khmer Rouge.
But the real standout for many was the film "Once in a Lifetime," or "Les Heritiers," the true story of a charismatic teacher in a Parisian suburban high school who involved her disparate class in an essay contest and, for inspiration, invited a Holocaust survivor to address them. The result was a transformative experience for the class.
Anne Kern, post screening, introduced the film's director, Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar, a former American journalist and now-naturalized French citizen and director who had received the screenplay from one of those transformed students.
Mention-Schaar spoke of following the teacher with a camera for a year, then added a footnote. When the Buchenwald concentration camp survivor told the class the date of the camp's liberation in 1945, he mistook the date as Jan. 29. The survivor, said Mention-Schaar, had died this year -- on Jan. 29.
It's the sharing of stories like this that make a film festival with the creators intriguing.
Missing in the Bow Tie cinema lobby this year were the few small tables where film-goers and -makers could converse. The sit-down area was available when the festival was at SUNY Purchase, said Kern. She said she believes in the value of viewers able "to share their love and their opinions of films."
"This is the reason for a festival," she said, "It really creates a cultural event."
Also viewing these films are the thousands of students in the tri-state area that come to the festival, some 6,000 students in 10 years, Kern said. One hopes a good number of them saw the film "Once in a Lifetime."
Sitting in front of me for "The Gate" was Roger Lurie, whose wife, Claude, is French. He finds French films to have more depth than American films, he said.
Time did not allow catching one of the 10 comedies in the mix this year, including, "I Kissed a Girl." Kern described it as "about a gay man going straight."
"People were crying with laughter," she said.
Kern said she couldn't imagine such a film being made in America, "But the film portrays a vision of the world where homosexuality is no longer a special category.
"French films afford an expanded vision of what cinema can be," said Kern, talking about the support artistic cinema gets from the French government. Every movie ticket sold in France she said, has a portion held back for first-time film directors.

Anne W. Semmes  Updated 10:09 am, Friday, April 3, 2015

http://www.greenwichtime.com/local/article/Semmes-captivating-foreign-films-6175510.php#photo-7756676

Luc Hardy, un capital-risqueur chez les manchots

2014-12-13T11:54:00.001-08:00

La Géorgie du Sud et Zavodovski sont des îles au large de l’Antarctique, qui appartiennent à l’archipel britannique des îles Sandwich du Sud. Elles sont très peu visitées. Peuplées de phoques, de manchots et d’albatros, balayées par les vents, elles représentent une bonne idée de ce qu’est le bout du monde.

Luc Hardy en revient tout juste. A 58 ans, ce Français qui vit dans le Connecticut a monté une expédition de cinq semaines en voilier autour de ces îles, à laquelle neuf personnes ont participé. De quoi couper radicalement les ponts avec son quotidien d’investisseur en capital-risque : en temps normal, Luc Hardy dirige un fonds, Sagax, qui investit dans des start-ups (comme Virtuoz ou le Lending Club).

Ce périple devait honorer le centenaire de l’expédition Endurance d’Ernest Shackleton. Cet explorateur anglo-irlandais a réalisé, au début du siècle passé, un voyage mythique vers ces terres inconnues, qui a tourné au drame. Le bateau a été emprisonné par les glaces, l’équipage dut se réfugier sur une banquise en dérive pendant deux mois. A bout de force, les hommes se sont séparés, attendant un hypothétique secours. Au terme d’une incroyable odyssée, Ernest Shackleton réussit à gagner la Géorgie du Sud, traverser cette île montagneuse et enneigée à pied, et les faire sauver.
Heureusement, il n’est rien arrivé de tel à Luc Hardy. Ce voyage avait en premier lieu un objectif scientifique : l’équipe a largué onze bouées Argo, qui émettent des données satellitaires et mesurent les courants, la salinité de l’eau, la température. Parmi les passagers figuraient une sportive suisse, Géraldine Fasnacht, qui a réalisé diverses prouesses en snowboard. L’équipe a aussi effectué, à pied, la traversée des monts de Géorgie du Sud (50 km), sur les traces d’Ernest Shackleton. Un film, réalisé par Bertrand Delapierre et produit par Luc Hardy, doit sortir au printemps 2015 (le trailer et d’autres vidéos visibles ici), et Luc Hardy publiera un livre de photos, comme pour ses précédentes expéditions.

Car il ne s’agissait pas, pour lui, d’un coup d’essai. Cela fait plus de dix ans que ce Français monte et finance, via son organisation Pax Artica, des voyages dans des lieux reculés. Avec en trame de fond, une volonté de montrer les effets du changement climatique – Luc Hardy est par ailleurs vice-président pour la France de Green Cross, l’ONG environnementale créée par Mikael Gorbatchev.

Ces derniers temps, on a pu apercevoir Luc Hardy sur les îles Aléoutiennes (au large de l’Alaska), sur des territoires tribaux en Papouasie-Nouvelle Guinée, sur l’île de Baffin dans le Canada Arctique, sur un glacier de l’Himalaya, ou encore à Barneo, un campement russe installé sur la banquise, à proximité du Pôle nord.

Mais foi d’aventurier, cette dernière expédition a été particulièrement ardue. Ces îles, proches du redoutable Cap Horn, sont en plein dans les « cinquantièmes hurlants » : entre le 50ème et le 60ème parallèle de l’hémisphère sud, les conditions météo sont parmi les pires au monde, avec des déferlantes terribles. « Le vent était si fort qu’il pouvait nous faire tomber. On était toujours en mer, parfois cinq jours de suite. Ca bougeait tout le temps. Tout le monde a été malade, même moi qui fait du bateau depuis toujours, même le capitaine », dit ce Breton, originaire de Saint-Malo.
Heureusement, il y avait de belles récompenses. Ces colonies de milliers de manchots en Georgie du Sud. Ces paysages « dramatiques », avec ces montagnes qui « tombent à pic dans l’eau ». « Il y a, dans ces îles, un côté hanté. On aurait pu tourner le Seigneur des Anneaux là-bas. » Et la satisfaction de fouler des terres désertes. « Pouvoir débarquer sur l’île Zavodovski, où à peine un bateau n’arrive à passer par an, c’était magique. Là-bas, je me disais : il n’y a peut être que dix personnes qui sont allées sur cette plage. C’est l’endroit le plus inaccessible dans lequel je sois allé ».

De retour aux Etats-Unis depuis la mi-novenbre, Luc Hardy a ouvert ses « 1.400 e-mails » et repris ses activités pour Sagax. Et pense déjà à ses prochains voyages : pourquoi pas l’Arctique russe, ou ces îles près du détroit de Béring… Ou bien un coin reculé en Amazonie.

Il ne se demande plus si cette passion est compatible avec son autre passion, le capital-risque. « Au début, quand j’ai commencé à mélanger les deux, je me disais : ‘cela ne va pas plaire’. Mais en fait, les gens autour de moi sont très enthousiastes. Il y a des parallèles assez évidents entre ces expéditions et le monde des start-ups : un état d’esprit très optimiste limite inconscient, une volonté de monter des projets, de surmonter des obstacles, de tester son endurance. D’ailleurs, les jeunes des start-ups avec qui je travaille, ils me disent tous : ‘on veut venir’ ! »

http://frenchmorning.com/luc-hardy-capital-risqueur-chez-les-manchots/

Thursday Nov 13

2014-11-13T13:23:00.003-08:00

After 6 weeks spent mostly at sea we are about to complete our pursuit of Endurance. We have been sailing from South Georgia for the last five days and the Falklands Islands are in sight under a beautiful sun at 5am this Wednesday morning. We will be staying in and around the Falklands until our return flight this week-end.
Stay tuned: More reporting, flashbacks, photos, videos and future steps in the next few days and weeks.

You can follow the expedition on:

- Youtube

- Twitter

- Facebook

- Pax Arctica's website

You can also follow the team's position in real time here

Thursday Nov 6

2014-11-10T06:31:00.003-08:00

After a very windy night (but not as windy as Camp 1 where we were forced to all sleep in one tent and were almost blown away) we got up at 5am. The sky was rather sunny and the wind had died down. It was time to go although it always manages to take an hour and a half to get ready (packing, melting snow for water and preparing a strong breakfast, undoing tent, redoing bags and sleds, …). We still had not decided which pass to take so Bertrand, our cameraman but also a very accomplished climber, proposed to check a couple of options while we finish getting ready. When he came back we decide to take the pass we had originally planned on based on his discovery that the other one was much further away.
The passage of the pass was very windy, which is typical, and the slope getting to it quite steep but we all make it without too much trouble.
The remainder of the climb down to Fortuna Bay was a series of patches of snow and rocks and tiny water flows that had to be crossed. This would not have been much of a problem with lighter equipment, but with our sleds it was much more of an ordeal. We helped each other lower the sleds with ropes and together carry them across rocky areas. In any event, we were glad that we had not attempted to finish this section the night before: we were tired, it was getting dark and we would have had to do everything with headlamps - not worth the risk. This is neither a re-enactment nor a competition.

Eventually we made it to the ‘beach’ of Fortuna Bay after more than three hours of strenuous effort. Penguins and seals are waiting for us and the Australis, our support boat, was anchored in the bay.
We finally ended the most important leg of our crossing and congratulate ourselves on the beach.

Approaching Breakwind Pass

Keith and Ollie, the British soldiers, crossing Breakwind Pass

Going down Breakwind Pass

Approaching Fortuna Beach

Arrived! With my sled – and the welcome committee in the background.

You can follow the expedition on:

- Youtube

- Twitter

- Facebook

- Pax Arctica's website

You can also follow the team's position in real time here

Friday Nov 7

2014-11-07T07:30:00.004-08:00

Two days ago, Nov 5 was very exciting: We left the ship at 6:15am from Possession Bay to resume our climb and traverse. We were treated to a glorious morning, hardly any wind, blue sky. (This was consistent with the most recent weather forecast Ben received from his meteorologist friend in Chamonix.)
At 9:30am, we made it to the first landmark on our route, the Trident Pass. On our way there we could see two dots on the Trident mountain to our right: Bertrand and Geraldine had left two and a half hours earlier to climb this mountain (1947m) and ride it. They succeeded and rejoined our group at 12:30pm as we were traversing the long plain (15km) between the Trident Pass and Breakwind Pass, our next planned stop. That section was very long, monotonous and cold, especially since the morning sun disappeared behind clouds at midday. We reached a point just before Breakwind Pass where we decided to camp for the night as it was getting late (6pm), the visibility was low, it was cold and most of us were very tired after almost 11 hours of hiking. It would have been a risky to attempt to do the pass that evening and continue down on the other side to Fortuna Bay (another few kms). The end of the traverse will have to wait for the next day!

En route to the Trident pass, in the distance.

Arriving at the Trident Pass: cold, beautiful, windy…

Arriving at our second camp in the evening.

You can follow the expedition on:

- Youtube

- Twitter

- Facebook

- Pax Arctica's website

You can also follow the team's position in real time here

Wednesday Nov 5

2014-11-05T06:52:00.001-08:00

Weather permitting we will depart for our camp 1 early Wednesday morning (6am). The equipment we recovered yesterday will be ready for us. We should have two full days of heavy skin skiing and hiking up and down the mountains and passes of South Georgia to reach Fortuna Bay on Thursday evening.
We are planning one night of camping in the mountains. The altitude is not very high (300-600m) and the terrain not that difficult. But ultimately we have no idea what the weather will be like even though we’re getting good weather forecasts at this moment. The weather changes constantly.

You can follow the expedition on:

- Youtube

- Twitter

- Facebook

- Pax Arctica's website

You can also follow the team's position in real time here

Tuesday Nov 4

2014-11-04T10:43:00.003-08:00

We reached our initial camp this morning at 9am after an hour and a half of climbing.
As you can see in the photo, except for the few skis still sticking out our camp was totally buried in snow. It took us two hours to shovel all this snow out and uncover the sleds, duffel bags and the tent. We returned back to the boat this evening and will try to resume the crossing tomorrow morning.

You can follow the expedition on:

- Youtube

- Twitter

- Facebook

- Pax Arctica's website

You can also follow the team's position in real time here

Sunday Nov 2

2014-11-04T06:36:00.001-08:00

At sea, somewhere between the South Sandwich Islands and South Georgia. A rare view of the sun setting.

You can follow the expedition on:

- Youtube

- Twitter

- Facebook

- Pax Arctica's website

You can also follow the team's position in real time here

Saturday Nov 1

2014-11-03T06:47:00.001-08:00

On November 1, Zoe, our on board scientist, releases the 6th of 7 Surface Velocity Program Buoys (SVP). See this video.

We were sailing between the South Sandwich Islands and South Georgia where we hope to resume our crossing of the island which was interrupted due to bad weather on Oct 23. These buoys measure surface temperature and salinity of sea water for approximately two years. Long term, they most likely follow the ACC (Antarctic Circumpolar Current). To follow the buoys over time, go to this link.

SOPRA , à travers son engagement sur l’eau, soutient l’expédition Pax Arctica Shackleton 2014

Release of ARGO profiler float #6

You can follow the expedition on:

- Youtube

- Twitter

- Facebook

- Pax Arctica's website

You can also follow the team's position in real time here

Friday Oct 31

2014-11-03T06:31:00.002-08:00

7pm - We left our anchorage at Zavodovski this morning to try to find a landing spot on the island. After searching for two hours without success we decided to leave for Visokoi (the next island further south, 3hrs away) and try our luck there. At the last minute, Ben our skipper found a promising spot for landing on Zavo. We approach in the Zodiac and try it and it works (but not without getting quite wet from landing in strong waves)! I got on shore with Ben (the other Ben, our polar guide). Magnificent scenery, few hundred penguins on shore (mostly Chinstrap but also a few pairs of Gentoo, Macaroni and King). If as they say there are 2 million penguins on this island, they’re well hidden. More likely, they will be coming later in the spring? In the next Zodiac, Geraldine arrives with Bertrand (our fearless cameraman). We all proceed to the top of Mt Asphyxia (550m), a relatively easy climb. Eventually Geraldine departs for a ride down the mountain (probably a "world first") from this point. We can see fumaroles coming out from the top of the volcano. At 2:30pm we’re all back on the boat and head towards Visokoi. But after two hours of navigation we are intimidated by the pack ice which has accumulated around the island. It would probably be possible to go through to reach the shore but hard to predict the timing. So we decide to retreat and go back directly to South Georgia where we still have a lot to do. We expect to be back in SG on Monday morning after two and a half days at sea.

Zavodovski island – South Sandwich Islands

Landing spot on Zavodovski island – the penguin colony.

Macaroni penguin on Zavodovski island – with Halloween hairstyle ;)

You can follow the expedition on:

- Youtube

- Twitter

- Facebook

- Pax Arctica's website

You can also follow the team's position in real time here

Thursday Oct 30

2014-10-31T06:26:00.002-07:00

6pm : We just arrived at Zavodovski, the northernmost island of the eleven South Sandwich Islands.
After passing Stench Point, we are now anchored in a less windy bay between Fume Point and Reek Point, at the foot of Mt. Asphyxia, an almost continuously active volcano (we can smell the sulfur in the air even though it is very windy).
Tonight we are expecting 50 knots winds and a big swell, so we will probably move anchorage in the middle of the night to find a more suitable place.
Even though James Cook called these islands “the most horrible Coast in the World”, it is home to two million chinstrap penguins! We hope to see some of them tomorrow – weather permitting.

You can follow the expedition on:

- Youtube

- Twitter

- Facebook

- Pax Arctica's website

You can also follow the team's position in real time here

Wednesday Oct 29

2014-10-30T06:42:00.002-07:00

After a last quite night in Larsen Bay, a little cove at the Southern end of South Georgia, we left this morning at 5am for the South Sandwich Islands. We’re not sure what to expect. Even our skipper Ben has never been there before. The islands are remote and relatively unknown. We have been told that at the most there is only one boat a year going there. We should arrive tomorrow night.

Last night in Larsen Bay, South Georgia: we used sonar and GPS equipment recently acquired by Australis, our ship (orange pole at back of Zodiac). We surveyed the bay for best possible anchorage. The zodiac criss crosses the bay for an hour collected data allowing the system to provide depth and GPS coordinates which can then be plotted on a screen. See also 3D map picture on our on board monitor. This helps define best location for anchorage as these waters are poorly charted, if at all. The system also gives an idea of the underwater terrain (mud, rocks, etc.).
Zoe took snow samples in the bay. She went up on the hill to avoid ‘pollution’ from the few Weddell seals inhabiting the bay.

Magnus, our first mate from New Zealand, operates the zodiac and sonar/GPS system.

The ReefMaster sonar/GPS/plotting system used in our survey.

You can follow the expedition on:

- Youtube

- Twitter

- Facebook

- Pax Arctica's website

You can also follow the team's position in real time here

Tuesday Oct 28

2014-10-29T06:45:00.002-07:00

On our way to the South Sandwich Islands today, we stopped at St Andrews Bay (South Georgia) and found
around 300,000 king penguins plus a guy disguised in black to mix with the crowd ;)

You can follow the expedition on:

- Youtube

- Twitter

- Facebook

- Pax Arctica's website

You can also follow the team's position in real time here

Monday Oct 27

2014-10-27T08:00:00.003-07:00

We are still on the boat in Possession Bay right in front of the glacier.
It continues to be very windy (30-40 knots at sea level, gusting 50+) and it seems worst in altitude so we are waiting for now.
If the weather calms down a bit, we are ready to go up to our former camp and retrieve our equipment.
If that is accomplished, our plan would be to leave early tomorrow morning Tuesday to resume our traverse of the island.
More news soon.

Oct 27 – 11:14am
Wind clocking at 55 knots! No improvement in sight. Abandoning plans of going in the mountains today.

You can follow the expedition on:

- Youtube

- Twitter

- Facebook

- Pax Arctica's website

You can also follow the team's position in real time here

Saturday Oct 25

2014-10-27T07:14:00.002-07:00

We arrived last night in Grytviken, the largest town on South Georgia (population 20, mostly scientists and government ;)). Unable to stay in the mountains because of the current weather conditions, we decided to go to Grytviken where we obliged to officially register with the local government.

Our plan now is to leave from here by boat tomorrow (Sunday) and go back to Possession Bay were we will arrive in the evening. On Monday, we plan to go back up the abandoned camp with small snow shovels to recover our equipment which is probably buried under snow (we have the GPS coordinates of the camp so we can find it again). We will get our pulkas ready for an early departure from camp on Tuesday morning.

Today we visited Grytviken, essentially a collection of rusted old industrial buildings and shipwrecks: Grytviken was a whaling station between 1904 and 1964. Originally we planned to visit Ernest Shackleton’s grave at the end of our adventure but fate had it otherwise. Since we were already in the town, we spent time today in the tiny church cemetery where his grave is located.

Our team of nine in the attached photo on Shackleton’s grave”.

Arriving in Grytviken last night

Fur seals, mom and pup – Grytviken

Fur seal – Grytviken

King penguins in Grytviken

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Thursday Oct 23

2014-10-26T09:20:00.004-07:00

We’re in the kind of situation where when one wakes up, we all wake up and today it’s around 6am. We were so exhausted last night that we slept relatively well. I was woke up suddenly at 11:30pm because there was total silence – wind has stopped blowing. But unfortunately there was not much we could do at that time. Around 3am, the unnerving sound of very strong winds blowing against the tarp started again, similar to last night. Quite a bit of snow found its way into the tent. Add that to the humidity in the tent from 9 sleeping bodies and consequently the canvas, my sleeping bag (even on the inside) and everything else is very wet.

Now we must wait. What should we do? Get ready and continue on the traverse itinerary? Go back to King Haakon Bay where the boat is? Go to Possession Bay to find protection and wait for the boat to pick us up? We know that the weather forecast is not so good but we are still hoping for a few hours of calm to dismantle the tent and move forward. At our scheduled satellite phone call with Ben Wallis, the boat captain, we discuss the idea of moving the boat to Possession Bay. It will take them about ten hours but it will be a good safety for us if all hell breaks lose with the weather.

We spend the next three hours or so just waiting. Everyone is calm but we can tell from all of our faces – from the most experienced (Ben) to the rookie (Keith) – that we are all nervous and anxious. And all the while the tent is getting smaller because the wind has been pushing snow around the perimeter. It gets harder and harder fit all nine in the tent just sitting. Left to continue the tent will eventually be buried by snow. We know that we have to make some decisions, soon. At some point I look at David and say: ‘In some ways our situation is similar to a Shackleton one: our goal should not necessarily be to finish the crossing of the island but to all return to safety as soon as possible’.

At 10 am we send an urgent SMS to Yan, our weather forecast analyst in France using our inReach GPS/communication device. He works for Meteo France. Using all the data at his disposal, he can give us a precise forecast for the next day or two. Within an hour we get an answer. The forecast calls for more 50-100km/h winds all day. There seems to be no chance of this ending soon so at 11:30am we decide to try to put an end to this misery. We will each carry only a backpack, no skis, no sleds. And we will attempt to go down to Possession Bay. By 12 noon we are all packed and ready to go. The visibility is relatively good, but the wind is extreme. We hope that by the time we reach lower altitudes it will calm down. After almost three hours of descent, sometimes with only 50 feet visibility, we cross a beautiful glacier and finally make it to the beach area. From there we communicate again with Ben Wallis who should be arriving in Possession Bay around 6pm. We are fine but exhausted and now have to wait a couple of hours for the boat to arrive so we spend time ‘on the beach’ photographing seals and birds.

When we finally get on board AUSTRALIS, Ben Wallis tells us that he had 50 knots wind at sea level in King Haakon Bay where he was waiting for us. The crew was very anxious for us as they had no news for the entire night.

Our plan now is to wait for a window of good weather to go up again and resume the crossing from our abandoned camp.

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Wednesday Oct 22

2014-10-24T08:06:00.001-07:00

We have been anchored in King Haakon Bay (south west corner of South Georgia) for a few hours. This is the bay in which Shackleton’s wooden boat the James Caird landed on April 19, 1916.
[Historical note: May 10, 1916: After 17 days in stormy seas, and with superior navigation by Endurance Captain Frank Worsley, the Caird miraculously arrives on the west coast of South Georgia. May 19: Shackleton, Worsley, and Second Officer Tom Crean set off to cross the previously unexplored interior of South Georgia, heading toward the East coast’s whaling stations. The other three men remain behind.]

The team landed on the beach by 9am with all our gear. We immediately loaded our sleds and backpacks and were ready to go by 9:40.

The visibility is good but a bit windy.
We leave our skis on our sleds as the first part of the climb is rock and packed snow. We aim for the Shackleton pass, a gentle slope of 300m alt. that we reach by noon. Up there it is very windy, probably 25 knots. The visibility is good and we have a very nice view of Possession Bay on the northern side of the island. We decide to push forward to our planned next camp that we should reach by 4-5 pm tonight.

The wind is getting stronger and almost directly in our face, slowing us down tremendously. It becomes more and more difficult to progress: at 2pm we decide to continue forward for another hour but are ready to turn and head back to Haakon Bay if needed (it would be easier because it is mostly downhill, although it is not easy to go downhill when you are pulling a sled behind you). After 30’, we realize that to continue would be very difficult, risky and dangerous. So we decide to set up camp for the night. We need to build snow walls, sawing blocks of snow from the ground which is a very long and tiring proposition. We decide to use only our ‘tipi’ tent because it is easier and safer if something should happen and all nine of us can fit inside. The bad news is that it is very windy with no sign of calming down (gusting 50 knots = 100km/h). The (relatively) good news is that we are less than 2km away from Possession Bay where we could go in the worst case, and wait for the boat to come around the island to rescue us.

It takes a couple of hours to get everything organized and in the tent. By 6pm we are all safely inside and start to prepare for food. Bertrand (our cameraman) is also our head snow melter and food preparer. At some point while cutting cheese he nips his finger and blood starts dripping on the white snow; annoying but not too serious. Geraldine prepares a first aid bandage and after 15’ minutes he is ready to cook again! After dinner all nine of us settle into our sleeping bags. (We definitely could not fit a tenth person in here!) The wind is constantly blowing: 30-50 knots and the noise of the tent canvas flapping at high speed makes for a very hard night.

On King Haakon Bay ‘beach’, South Georgia. I landed first to be able to take some photos.
A welcoming elephant seal.

Our team on King Haakon Bay ‘beach', ready to climb up the Shackleton Pass.

A pause in the storm after the Shackleton’s Pass.

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Tuesday Oct 21

2014-10-22T07:14:00.000-07:00

6:05 pm: We are in sight of South Georgia Island, we should be there in the early hours of the morning, about 3am (it is actually beginning of the day at that hour at that latitude). There seems to be a window of relatively good weather (i.e., winds of 30km/h and snow showers) for the next two and a half days. So we will try to get started early to do most of the island crossing before the bad weather kicks in (100km/h winds, 50cm of snow, etc.). The last part of the crossing is ‘easier’ so we can always camp somewhere and sit out the storm. We will make final decision tomorrow morning in light of what we see on site and the latest weather forecast.
We plan on traveling as a group of nine, four British roped together and five French/Swiss together. This is not a competition, so there is no group trying to go faster than the other. We are all one team inspired by the unlikely exploit of Shackleton and his men a hundred years ago. To Endurance!

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Monday Oct 20, 2014

2014-10-20T07:45:00.002-07:00

This morning Ben Wallis, our captain, awakes us at 5:30am, indicating that there is something to be seen on deck: a huge tabular iceberg at the horizon. It must be miles long. As we get closer and pass it we can measure it: 12 miles long by 6.5 miles wide! Probably a piece of Antarctica’s ice shelf which detached a while back and is now caught in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean currents. We figure the top is 50 meters above sea level, so probably a 1/2 kilometer thick iceberg! That is over 100 billion tons of fresh water ice…

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Saturday Oct 18, 2014

2014-10-20T06:32:00.000-07:00

We are up at 5:30am this morning, to take advantage of the sun coming out, with not so many clouds as yesterday.
We leave anchorage at 6am and go towards Point Wild, where Shackleton’s group of 22 men camped until being rescued four months later.
We arrive at what is left of their ‘beach’ at 10am and go on shore with the zodiac. It is very windy and cold. It is about –17ºC with the wind.
A few chinstrap penguins are onshore, along with a couple of fur seals. One of the fur seals is bleeding from the head: fight or accident?

I shake hand with David, my fellow Explorers Club member. We are thrilled to be here. After a very long start (stuck in Puerto Williams), we are now relatively lucky with the weather. Zoe goes uphill and takes another sample of snow for micronutrients analysis.

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Friday Oct 17, 2014 Afternoon

2014-10-20T06:27:00.003-07:00

We arrive at Elephant Island. The first sight is impressive, but more so because of everything we have read and heard about it… steep icy rock cliffs hidden in the haze reveal themselves as we approach. We decide to go to the southern part of the island as it is already mid afternoon. This is where we will anchor for the night. We will then try to go to Point Wild tomorrow: this is where Shackleton and five of his men left from on the James Caird lifeboat with the hope of reaching South Georgia.
At 4pm we reach point Lookout, our anchorage for the night. We get a zodiac out and we go onshore. There we are (sort of) welcomed by a colony of several hundreds gentoo penguins and several fur seals. Zoe takes samples of snow in a virgin slope (these samples are then brought back to her lab in France for micro nutriments analysis). We film all this and then Bertrand (cameraman) goes with Geraldine up the glacier for a test snowboard ride. When all done we return to the warmth of the Australis.

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