Icebound in Antarctica

Description

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.

Sailor and adventurer David Lewis (1917-2002) was born in Plymouth, England, and raised in New Zealand and Rarotonga. He was the author of many books, including We, The Navigators and The Voyaging Stars. A doctor by profession, Lewis was best known for his studies of the navigation systems of the Pacific Islanders, which helped to revive traditional Polynesian canoe building and voyaging methods in the South Pacific. American anthropologist and sailor Mimi George holds a doctorate from the University of Virginia. She was a member of David Lewis's expedition to Antarctica in 1983, conducting her own research into the dynamics of small groups. George and Lewis eventually married, and continued to collaborate on research projects for many years. In 1996 Mimi George helped to establish the Vaka Taumako Project, which preserves and perpetuates authentic Polynesian seafaring culture on Taumako in the southeast Solomon Islands.