Icebound in Antarctica

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.