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The big news of the day is that we have now shaped course directly for Hobart and are making more northerly than we have before now. This will ensure that we will pass between two weather systems and give us the best chance of having a relatively calm trip (weather in the next week permitting). As a result, the air and sea temperatures have increased above freezing for the first time and we appear to be approaching the edge of the Antarctic convergence zone. As one expeditioner was heard to comment this morning, "this is where icebergs come to die".There was some excitement aboard yesterday afternoon when we discovered another ship amongst the ice bergs. She was not showing up on our Automatic Identification System initially but when hailed on the VHF she identified herself as the Japanese Ice-Breaker 'Shiraze', apparently undertaking a similar mission to ours. We wished them well and continued on our separate ways. Tonight we will have a pizza night, followed by a charity auction for Camp Quality, the ship's charity of choice for many years. The Chunky Polar Medal campaign trail appears to have gone quite cold, with Chunky overheard to be saying he is too busy getting ready for Voyage 5 for which he has been appointed Voyage Leader. This came about at short notice due to the unavailability of the previously nominated VL (congrats on your new job, Rob) and means he will return south as soon as the ship is ready to leave Hobart for the Casey and Davis end of summer personnel recovery.
Regards
Andy, Sharon and Chris
Map
A map showing Australia and Antarctica. The map shows the journey of one voyage that has occured in the season, with each route highlighted in a distinct colour.