Robert Swan O.B.E.
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Friday 18 March
The next morning I get up early. At 6 am local time I am already done sleeping. I have a shower and dress, pack my stuff and Peter and I are at breakfast at 7 am sharp. After that we get out to take a few nice pictures in the warm light you have just before the sun rises above the mountains here.
We first see the rest of the group that morning at the briefing. It is an enthousiastic small, high quality group. Including the 2041 team we are with 47 people. It’s a great enthusiastic group of people, most directly involved in the area of renewable energy. Many come from the US where 2041 has its headquarters in the mountains in about three hours east of San Francisco. As far as I can tell by then, I am one of the few Europeans and the only one from continental Europe. The 2041 team really is made of remarkable characters. One ex-British Navy guy responsible for all safety, another guy who spends time to photograph all the highest mountains in every continent, each and every one has his or her story. It’s fascinating alone to have all these people together. And we are definitely going to do some truly remarkable things together. The idea of seeing my first iceberg is fascinating alone, being overwhelmed by nature, both its beauty and its cruelty. The wildlife we will see and get close to, the idea of camping on Antarctica and potentially even having a polar plounch….
But back to where we are now, still on mainland Argentina. I finish off a few e-mails in the last hours before becoming completely disconnected. I call home and hear about the normal day to day stories of my wife and kids where normal life just continuous.
Time to go! We get through customs and set off over the dock to the Sea Spirit which will be our home for the trip. The dock is lively and busy with offloading stuff from a good number of ships. Men pack up containers by hand which then get loaded on a ship. We get on board and enter our assigned cabins. Fit for purpose and more than that. Given the size of the ship being able to take a hundred passengers, everyone gets their own cabin. Although I signed up for the cheapest cabin, I end up in one of the more luxurious ones. We sail off after having had the safety drill.
It makes a stunning view. The weather is fair with some clouds. As we sail off, the sun gets out and presents a rainbow as if it wishes us farewell in the friendliest way. We are truly privileged. And still there is so much more to come.
We have Rob’s first presentation on leadership on the edge. Parts of the story I recognize, other parts are new but just as good. It’s what he has done what makes him stand out for me. He committed to live his dream. It is catching on to you.
We have a lovely diner together and some of us go out to enjoy the full moon and stars that you can see through the occasional clouds. You can already feel the air getting colder. Inside one of the team leaders is playing the piano and sings. I head to bed not too late to do my writing for my diary and prepare the stuff in my cabin for the potential rough seas the Drake Passage is known for. In just half an hour you could literally fall out of bed. It’s an encounter with the forces of nature you have to respect. Although 600 miles wide, the Drake Passage is a narrow canal for all the water of the Pacific Ocean that passes to the Atlantic. It can be rough in the Drake and is typically known for its turbulent seas. I have decided against any medication to prevent sea sickness.
The alarm of my Blackberry is sounding – it’s seven o’clock. I snooze it one time and then get out of bed entering the bathroom for a shower. I turn the water on, waiting for it to get warm. While waiting longer, I realize I would probably be the first one sending up warm water from below the ship this morning, which makes me a bit suspicious. I put the curtains aside a bit and look outside in a pitch black night. I check my watch which confirms my mistake. I had forgotten to adjust my Blackberry to the current time zone. Realizing it is three o’clock I turn off the shower and gladly get back to bed for a few hours extra sleep. At the real seven o’clock I get up and have my shower. After breakfast I shoot some more photo’s.
The weather and the seas have been treating us kindly. Smoother than this the Drake Passage won’t get and it is quickly dubbed Lake Drake. Sofar my choice against taking seasickness pills or patches works fine for me. Enough sleep, enough water and enough food combined with a reluctance on anything that dehydrates the body (one or two mugs of coffee and no alcohol) do the trick for me. That morning we get the mandatory Zodiac drill and a lecture on sea mammals. Did you know that crab eaters are a kind of seal and that they don’t eat crab at all? Actually crab doesn’t live in Antarctica. The seas get a bitter tougher now and a good number of people have fallen victim to seasickness. I am also feeling just a little bit wobbly but stick to my decision and to participating in the program. After lunch we continue with how to dress for our landings and Zodiac trips. The trick is to use layering of several layers of cloths which you can take on or off according to circumstances. Having a waterproof outer layer keeps you protected from rain and moist from fog or snow. Cotton is forbidden. It absorbs body heat and won’t keep dry like fleece or other synthetics. Cotton kills is the phrase down here. I have an extra check on my clothing which is well fit for the purpose. During history of Antarctica lessons I connect to the photographer of the ship, an ex reporter for the Washington Post. He gives me some of his tips for my camera and the conditions we are expecting. I find out that Sander Nagel’s lessons back home were already very useful, but I still have a lot to learn when it comes to photography. I actually enjoy experimenting with the camera which goes easy and completely forgiven in our digital age.
At the end of the afternoon we get our last official program item of the day: the REE program. REE stands for Renewable Energy Expedition. This is the first of its kind and gets together some big leaders and thinkers in this area. One of the purposes of this trip is to create a report together that will further enhance the implementation of renewable energy solutions. The basic idea and process is explained and will take hold over the next couple of days. Only now we get to do a formal round of full introductions. One of the guys on the ship runs a 1.1 billion USD private equity fund in which our SAM colleagues for the Zurich based clean tech group recently decided to invest in, taking over an existing participation of a US bank which was forced to sell that participation.
The seas now really get rougher and a lot more people turn a bit paler than they were. I am also feeling less sure about my decision not to take any seasickness medication. I force my self to have dinner and actually feel much better afterwards. The conversation at the table is very enjoyable and goes about how to quicken up the transition to renewable energy, the role of governments, of traditional energy companies and investors. From the corporate side we have a Canadian representative of Royal Dutch Shell and a Hong Kong based Brit from China Lightning and Power on board as participants. I decide not to push the envelope and plan to get to bed early despite the enjoyable conversation and the fact that dinner took away the little wobbly feeling indicating the start of more serious sea sickness. Tomorrow we will arrive in calmer waters before noon and are planned to set out for our first Antarctic landing – a delightful prospect I certainly won’t have spoiled by lack of sleep. Shortly after ten o’clock my lights are off and with my Blackberry now adjusted for the local time zone I am set for a good night sleep.
Sunday 20 March
Again we get up early. Just as we are having breakfast we have our first sightings of rocks towering over the water and smaller islands. We get outside and see a group of penguins on starboard. Everyone is excited and you can feel the vibration moving through the ship. After the cold takes over we get back in and get a presentation on climate science. Most of this is known to me but some new facts are presented or refreshed. After only a short break we get our gear inspected and cleaned to avoid any biodiversity hazards. The Antarctic area we are in now is getting a bit warmer, estimated to be about 3.5 degrees of Celsius over the last fifty years. Every pocket in our outer layers and camera bags are vacuum cleaned to avoid bring non native seeds to the islands. Waterproof boots are handed out and we get fifteen minutes to prepare for our first landing. Four of the ten Zodiacs the ship is carrying are brought down in the water. After swiping our cards to let the ship’s computer know we are getting on shore, we have to get through a basin of chemicals to clean our boots and board the Zodiacs. We have anchored close to Half Moon Island and set out to get on shore to see a penguin colony and seals which live there. It is cloud covered, a bit hazy and snowing. With calm seas in the bay the landing is smooth and Robert Swan is already on shore to welcome everyone personally. It is an inspiring moment to be welcomed by him the place he devoted his life to. The penguins are funny and a little smaller than I expected. A seal is resting next to an old, wooden and half gone rowing boat on the dark pebble beach. We hike around the area and see lot’s of penguins and stunning views of glaciers hitting the waterfront just across a small canal. An old whale bone rests on the shore. You can clearly smell the penguin’s guano and it is a good thing you don’t bring that home with you in your pictures. We have the option of hanging around the penguin colony and discover the area on our own or take a group hike along the bay where not much wildlife is to be expected. With a two other expedition members we split off and wonder off on our own. This appears to be a good choice as you can clearer hear the natural sounds you have in this area. While we are quiet and just absorbing the environment in it’s beauty and it’s cruelty (some dead and half eaten penguins lie around) we apparently make an interesting target for one nosy penguin that approaches me and gets really close. There is no fear, just curiosity. It is a wonderful experience. After wondering around, taking our pictures we set off back to the beach where we came on shore. We clean our boots as good as we can in the surf and board a Zodiac to take us back to the ship. My first Antarctic landing is a fact.
Peter Byck is on board as well. He is a movie maker and his latest movie is Carbon Nation. Particularly to US citizens it has recognizable characters in the movie, like people from Texas or Alaska. The movie sounds a positive energy and is centered around solutions rather than challenges. Solutions that make people happy and that are profitable. This is the most effective way to move people in the US. Another theme in the movie is the father to son relation. Once it is available, I would recommend to watch it. If you like it and would like to spread the word, let me know. Peter Byck owns the movie rights and he said the answers is always yes to the question whether one could show it.
After some snacks we have the debriefing of the day and get an overview of tomorrows program, which will turn out to be an awesome day.
I have dinner together with Robert Swan and we discuss reaching out to other investors with his message and mission. He embraces the idea of getting to Paris in September when there will be a big investor gathering around the annual conferences of ICGN (on which Roderick is confirmed to speak) and UNPRI. One of the participants on the expedition is Scott, in his free time an opera singer. This evening he performs one of the highlights from the opera Tosca. It is moving to see him perform with such dedication and ability to put emotion in his act. Two ladies, both from Dubai give us notice that tonight it is also Persian new year, which we lightly celebrate.
Monday 21 March
Again we get up early after the call on the ships audio system. Graham, our team leader wakes us up at 6h00 am with the words “Get up, you can sleep when you’re dead!”. Half an hour later we are on the top deck of the ship and we are looking at the rising sun coming up from behind the enormous tabular shaped icebergs in bright blue colors. It makes a stunning view. These icebergs came off the Larssen B ice shelf which broke off far sooner than any scientist anticipated. It happened in 2002 and signing the tipping point in the scientific arena on whether climate change was actually happening. I saw it with my own eyes and yes it is very real.
After breakfast we get out to the Zodiacs, again all layered up to keep us from getting cold. We set out to Brown Bluff in the Antarctic Sound. The Zodiacs land with the penguin and seals nearby. After a short walk on the black pebble beach, we get up the glacier about a mile or so. Cravats are a real danger here and we come across one which seems to have no end into the deepness. As far as I could look down, the cravat continued. It must have been 40 meters or more. From up the glacier, the views are stunning. Geologically this is also a very interesting place. The rock formations have light brown colors with dots of black basalt like a chocolate chip cookie. The brown colors come for the compressed asses that mixed with basalt in a volcano eruption which occurred under the ice. After hiking back and holding a real piece of ice in our hands we head back to the Zodiacs to take us back to the ship. One of the team crew, by the name of Jumper and a very experienced guy, gets in the water involuntarily because of the black rock formations just below the waterline. He actually was on the look out for these rock formations to avoid them, but given the lack of waves signaling where the rocks where and because of there black color the Zodiac softly run into one. Softly but enough to cause Jumper, who hanged already a little bit overboard to get a better view in the water, to go overboard. Jumper wears a floatation suite and is easily retrieved without getting cold. He actually runs two more transports of people from the pebble beach to the ship before getting off to look after himself.
During lunch the ship takes course towards the Weddell Sea, a place normally packed with ice around this time of the year but now it can be navigated by our ship. The number of icebergs we see is everywhere around us. Occasionally whale surface followed by their characteristic blow.
