Special team going to the Antartic for scientic visit
Brrrr... | 05.03.2008 14:19 | Climate Camp 2007 | Climate Chaos | Ecology
The Army team of sailors and mountaineers, of British Army Antarctic Expedition 2008, has set off for the Antarctic to discover one of the last untouched regions of the globe.
Capturing the spirit of the great expeditions of the past, the 16-man team plans to explore by ‘sea and ski’ one of the most inhospitable regions on earth, documenting the geography of the largely unexplored Danco Coast and Forbidden Plateau.
During their ten-week exploration the crew will be carrying out a series of field studies, approved by the Royal Geographical Society, which they hope will provide valuable scientific data in support of the International Polar Year research programme.
Before they can begin their exploration the team has to navigate their 76ft yacht, the Discoverer, from the Falkland Islands through the notoriously rough seas of The Drake Passage to the Antarctic.
Expedition leader Major Richard Pattison (45), an officer in The Royal Anglian Regiment, has completed two Army expeditions to the Antarctic, so knows what the team can expect.
He said: “There are very real and dramatic risks to this expedition. In medical terms, there is no hospital in the event of a serious accident and no outside help for ten days. But soldiers do benefit from being in this kind of situation. There is a very real link between the risks they will encounter on this sort of expedition, and the approach to overcoming those risks, and the risks they face serving on operations. On a personal level, I find the harsh beauty of the place incredible.”
Expedition leader Major Richard Pattison
During the trip, crew members will experience sailing in shifts and ‘hot-bunking’ in three-metre-long cabins of three bunks high. They also have to take all their food for the expedition and equipment needed for every eventuality.
Captain Sam Kirby-French (29), an instructor for the Royal Logistics Corps troop commander’s course, has completed the Army arctic warfare course and spent the summer with the team in the Alps learning crevasse rescues and sea survival techniques. He said: “When we go through The Drake Passage we will be working in shifts, being thrown around and cold and wet, it’s going to be quite unpleasant. I have an idea of what it’s going to be like, but it’s probably going to be more extreme than I can imagine. I think the more difficult things you expose yourself to the stronger you become and it’s something that other people do not get the chance to see – it is one of the last wildernesses on earth.”
The crew of the Discoverer, which includes experienced military sailors, mountaineers, one RAF flight lieutenant and a civilian geologist, flew to the Falkland Islands to join their boat for the Antarctic, which sets off earlier this month. They are expected to return to the Falkland Islands in mid-February 2008.
Capturing the spirit of the great expeditions of the past, the 16-man team plans to explore by ‘sea and ski’ one of the most inhospitable regions on earth, documenting the geography of the largely unexplored Danco Coast and Forbidden Plateau.
During their ten-week exploration the crew will be carrying out a series of field studies, approved by the Royal Geographical Society, which they hope will provide valuable scientific data in support of the International Polar Year research programme.
Before they can begin their exploration the team has to navigate their 76ft yacht, the Discoverer, from the Falkland Islands through the notoriously rough seas of The Drake Passage to the Antarctic.
Expedition leader Major Richard Pattison (45), an officer in The Royal Anglian Regiment, has completed two Army expeditions to the Antarctic, so knows what the team can expect.
He said: “There are very real and dramatic risks to this expedition. In medical terms, there is no hospital in the event of a serious accident and no outside help for ten days. But soldiers do benefit from being in this kind of situation. There is a very real link between the risks they will encounter on this sort of expedition, and the approach to overcoming those risks, and the risks they face serving on operations. On a personal level, I find the harsh beauty of the place incredible.”
Expedition leader Major Richard Pattison
During the trip, crew members will experience sailing in shifts and ‘hot-bunking’ in three-metre-long cabins of three bunks high. They also have to take all their food for the expedition and equipment needed for every eventuality.
Captain Sam Kirby-French (29), an instructor for the Royal Logistics Corps troop commander’s course, has completed the Army arctic warfare course and spent the summer with the team in the Alps learning crevasse rescues and sea survival techniques. He said: “When we go through The Drake Passage we will be working in shifts, being thrown around and cold and wet, it’s going to be quite unpleasant. I have an idea of what it’s going to be like, but it’s probably going to be more extreme than I can imagine. I think the more difficult things you expose yourself to the stronger you become and it’s something that other people do not get the chance to see – it is one of the last wildernesses on earth.”
The crew of the Discoverer, which includes experienced military sailors, mountaineers, one RAF flight lieutenant and a civilian geologist, flew to the Falkland Islands to join their boat for the Antarctic, which sets off earlier this month. They are expected to return to the Falkland Islands in mid-February 2008.
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