Day 8 – Into the ice
Friday 09 January This is day 8 on our floating home away from home, and this morning we all finally got to do the polar plunge! [Sonja tells us that this was the southernmost polar plunge ever done by a student team!…
Friday 09 January This is day 8 on our floating home away from home, and this morning we all finally got to do the polar plunge! [Sonja tells us that this was the southernmost polar plunge ever done by a student team!…
Thursday 08 January 2026 After welcoming back on board the intrepid campers, our journey continued southwards, and at 7 am we were ready on deck to start our surveys. Around us, perfect minke whale habitat, but they…
Wednesday 07 January 2026 Today was another early start for all of us as we were the first group to go ashore. We weren’t the first in the zodiac though as a surpise penguin hitchhiker got on board one of the zodiacs…
For those wanting to dive deeper into our expedition and keep up with the adventure, you can: follow the students’ stories and ask questions on our Instagram feed Antarctic Explorers (usta_antarctica):…
Tuesday 06 January 2026 Today we woke to our first day south of the Antarctic circle thanks to the ship’s push south on more open water during the night! This position made our ship the southernmost passenger vessel in…
Monday, 5. January 2026 Today was not like a regular Monday. Today was an Antarctic Monday! When we woke, the ship was as still as it had ever been. We had survived the infamous Drake Passage! The excitement encouraged…
Sunday Jan 4, 2026 Survey teams were up at 7am for the first seabird and marine mammal surveys. Thankfully the dense fog of last night had cleared slightly, though it still obscured the horizon. The strong 20 m/s (72…
On the morning of the second day of our journey we got woken up by a more turbulent sea – an immediate indication that we had entered the Drake Passage. Some students couldn’t wait to get started and opted in to a…
Happy New Year!! It’s finally sinking in that we are going to Antarctica!! What a way to start 2026! We are all excited and looking forward to the adventure. After a day or two of exploring and relaxing in Buenos Aires…
The 13th St Andrews students in the Antarctic expedition is underway! The countdown for our long-anticipated adventure is on. Our journeys start on different continents during the last days of 2025 with flights to…