WINTERING

Photo by Jean Lemire

JOIN US AS WE LIVE THROUGH WINTER IN THE ANTARCTIC.

winter v. intr. To pass or spend the winter; to stay or reside (at a specified place) during the winter; (of animals) to find, or be provided with, food and shelter in the winter. Also (Canad.) with out.
(From the Oxford English Dictionary)

MARCH 2006: THE START OF A GRAND ADVENTURE

Sedna is now moored in her winter harbour on the Antarctic Peninsula. She will not move between now and November 2006.

In fact, it is now time to turn the hourglass back over, for another stage is beginning, and this one promises to be long—very long—and difficult. It all seems unreal. We have been sailing since September and every day, or nearly so, we discover someplace new. Every week, we push forge onward in a race against the watch. The race is now over.

From now on, every porthole has a view of the beach. We are so close to the shoreline—a most uncommon occurrence for a 51-metre sailing vessel. The harbour’s small size will protect us from the pressure of the ice when winter sets in. We are confident. The Melchior site is the best place to winter over.

Sedna now awaits winter, and some of wait for the ship that will carry them back to the city and civilization. Sedna now awaits the arrival of winter.

With the icebreaker Irizar gone, we the crew of the oceanographic sailing vessel Sedna IV, are deep in the great frozen continent. In a far-off spot just above the Antarctic polar circle, our crew—10 men and three women—will be facing the harsh living conditions together. For nearly a year, we will have to brave the elements of a hostile environment. In the darkness of the polar night, we will be facing extreme conditions, frozenin the Antarctic pack ice, where few humans have dared to venture during the winter.

Through this extraordinary human adventure, this major physical and psychological challenge, we’ll have to close ranks and establish the rules of our own micro-society. Under these living conditions with no familiar reference points, there is no pre-existing recipe, no instructions for use. Instinct will inexorably rise to the surface, taking up an important position in our psyches, for the props and rules established in our societies no longer hold.

Jean Lemire

Sedna wintering over is…

…a crew of 13 men and women carrying out a mission. These individuals are:

Jean Lemire, Serge Boudreau, Amélie Breton, Mario Cyr, Martin Leclerc, Mariano Lopez, Pascale Otis, François Prévost, Joëlle Proulx, Damian Lopez, Stevens Pearson, Sébastien Roy and Marco Fania.

While the film crew works hard shooting the images that will eventually be brought to you in the form of documentary films and a television series about life on board ship, the scientific crew will be busy recording and compiling data in an attempt to shed some light and provide possible solutions to the problem that Antarctic Mission set out to observe.

Throughout the long winter months, they will be there for you, virtual mariners from around the world, answering your questions and communicating with you, as always. You will continue to be the essential inside observers of our expedition, which would be meaningless without your presence.

November 13th

Sedna Sets Sail. Sedna has raised anchor and is now homeward bound...

(Excerpted from the captain’s log entry for November 13th)

We needed a perfect day. A sunny, windless day with a sea as flat as a lake. We had to cast off the lines, raise the anchors and swivel Sedna around in the narrow harbour to point her out towards the freedom of the open sea.

Aeolus and Neptune allowed us to sail out of Sedna Bay under ideal conditions. The gods were with us, what a day it was!

The night before, we went to the top of the mountain to dismantle the inuksuk and return its stones to the earth. Once this was done, there was nothing left of us here except the enduring memory of our presence. The rest—the tangible remains of our passage—were suddenly gone forever. Now, the only signs of our time here are the stories and the memories.

In the early morning, as we gathered in the crew’s mess room, everyone wore a smile that said a great deal about general morale. We were now ready to begin manoeuvres to set sail. Everyone was anxious to get moving and once again to experience a certain form of freedom. Paradoxically, we also know that the long road that stretches out before us will take us back to our other life, the one we left behind—and that by setting sail, we also move forward into the loss of a certain form of freedom. Whatever the case, today, more than ever, we’re dreaming of you...