If the Treaty dies, the continent dies. When treaties are broken, people die. Treaties are agreements between those sovereign figments of our collective imagination, the nation-state. Itself an Enlightenment child, the ‘nation’ is our fundamental global organising principle. For the lucky majority, our nationality is the ground on which we … Continue reading
I am writing this mid-afternoon on 6 March, but will set it to post later, where it will be too late to take it back.In less than three hours we will be aboard. A wee part of me has been hoping for some really good reason for the trip to … Continue reading
Punta Arenas reminds me of small towns in New Zealand. It has the neat rectangularity of Invercargill and the bright colours of Napier. The town shares the light with Bluff, on the south point of South Island. Even clouded and raining, the air is that particular southern oceanic grey, brighter … Continue reading
The squall’s timing was perfect. There she is, at anchor in the Magellan Strait, off Punta Arenas. Continue reading
There are stations and bases scattered across Antarctica, spread very thin and mostly around the edges. These are places, with form and function: . I’m avoiding the word settlement because the Treaty doesn’t allow permanent settlement (which is a good thing). The term placemaking gets bandied around in my … Continue reading
Sometime back, I asked people for suggestions for my iPod. I have to say many of you were very reticent in public, though thanks to all those who sent me suggestions by email or private message. I have constructed a list on Spotify, unsurprisingly called Sailing to Antarctica. It’s not … Continue reading
Antarctica lies hidden behind the cold-current fringes of the Southern Ocean, ancient lands shrouded in white and blue. Sleeping Beauty, bramble-fenced, breathing in rhythm with the tick of the clock, awaits the destined prince. Cold, storied emblems of passivity and pride.Amundsen and Shackleton have come and gone though Scott remained, ensorcelled … Continue reading
The sheets of my heartsnapped taut to breaking, as a galestronger than longing filled the sailinside me.There’s lovely, but more widely I find a dearth of strong poetry about the sea by women. There’s plenty of great poems by men of course, most famously John Masefield’s thundering cry to ‘go down … Continue reading
I have just downloaded the US Sailing Directions to Antarctica, a weighty tome full of dark warnings. The British would call it the Pilot Book, the detailed description of the coastline and sailing conditions of the area. (The Admiralty Pilot is not available electronically and costs at least £60.) In addition to … Continue reading
Pirates always excite the imagination, at least the ones on tall ships in the Golden Age. Stevenson’s and Barrie’s fantasies played their part in the popularisation and Johnny Depp has a lot to answer for. Now there’s even International Pirate’s Day.The wicked, bare-breasted, cutlass-wielding woman pirate is an alluring addition … Continue reading
