Dr David Lewis tells of his latest expedition in which he sailed to Antarctica in the winter to be intentionally icebound. Much more than a sailor's tale of a voyage of exploration, it is a revelation of the human spirit under duress.
On 14 November 1982, David Lewis, Mimi George and four others set sail from Sydney, Australia, in a 65-foot steel-hulled yacht, the Dick Smith Explorer, on a privately funded expedition to the southern polar ice-cap. Their mission: to overwinter in the frozen Antarctic wastes, study environmental hazards and wildlife, and assess the effects of total isolation on six former strangers.
In a lively and candid narrative the authors take us behind the scenes of polar expedition-the fitting out of the ship, selection of crew, navigation through pack-ice and monster icebergs, tagging seals, studying penguins and other birdlife, sledging in blizzards and battling frostbite. Behind it all is the haunting beauty of Antarctica-the last great uncharted wilderness. This is the land of Amundsen and Scott, of Shackleton and Fuchs-a land beset with dangers, yet which still irresistibly exerts its thrall. Lewis and George's fascinating account of their adventures brings every detail alive.
