Well, we are finally finished with landings and Polar Cirkel boats and all that palavar for this expedition.
Getting dressed for a landing was an art in itself. Start with the base layer, add the over layer followed by the outer layer. Then the waterproofs. Add boots, hat, scarf or balaclava, gloves and you’re only half way there.
Next come your camera, extra batteries and lenses; binnoculars, sunglasses, expedition ID card (hangs on a lanyard round your neck and madatory for landings), notebook & pen for taking essentials note of your visit (how do you think this blog gets written?), rucksack to carry all the aforesaid paraphanalia and then, and only then, can you think of finding a way to fit the mandatory lifejacket, a burdensome weight in itself. Oh and a walking stick.
There were times we felt better equipped than an astronaut. Certainly by the end of the 40 minutes or so it took to prepare, we were all trussed up like turkeys ready for the oven. And, inevitably, once ashore, you would have to go looking for some essential piece of equipment, maybe a camera battery, maybe a handkerchief. That’s when the ordeal would begin. That was when the Fearless Four invented the First Law of an Antarctic Landing: it is simple and goes like this:
The item most required will always be the one that is least accessible!
The law also works in reverse.