As no 'real time' communication was allowed whilst onboard HMS Scott, I had to relay info back home to be posted several days later.

27 January 2010

“The weather has been hugely changeable, as you would expect in Antarctica, from sunshine and light breeze to snow, biting winds and fog. Thankfully, the sea state has been no more than 4 to 5. Visibility has at times been reduced to almost zero, which is enormously frustrating, however the land we have managed to see around the South Shetland Islands has been truly spectacular. Huge, glaciated, angular snowy mountains rise straight from the sea, with Mt. Foster on Smith Island reaching 6900ft.The lower level Deception Island is no less impressive with her volcanic snow-covered rim a sight to behold. Livingston Island's Byer's peninsula and the appropriately named Snow Island nearby made for good quick chroma studies and Livingston's Mt Friesland (5807ft) appeared from the clouds long enough for me to paint her in watercolour and on canvas. Working from the ship's many decks is an exhilarating experience and my specially designed easel harness is proving invaluable. We are constantly moving but, as my canvas is attached to me, whilst painting I'm able to freely move around the ship as she alters course and so can continue working without being unduly affected by a change of direction. Apart from the subject matter getting closer or further away, that is. My 'dribble and scribble' pocket sketch book is also filling up nicely and now contains penguins, parts of the ship, islands, skies and icebergs. We have passed some massive flat-topped tabular ice bergs which would once have been part of an ice shelf. These sea-ice-bergs are different to the glacial ice bergs I painted recently in Greenland, and the tabular pieces can be - and indeed have been - several miles across in size.”

30 January

“Today has been fantastic - both in views and amount of work. The weather has been extraordinarily calm - no Katabatic wind or anything which is practically unheard off in these parts. There is no other word but awesome, really. Light winds meant painting was pleasurable and I really enjoyed myself, in spite of having to work at high speed and having the frustration of the moving ship. I mutter a bit, as every time I start painting the ship turns.... Anyway, I've done 6 studies today and now I'm truly exhausted. The crew have nicknamed me "Antartist" And now I've got a reputation for 'Extreme Painting' (like the mad "extreme ironing"). The sun never really shone today but it was bright and dry and gave plenty of photo opportunities. We've had penguins leaping through the sea alongside us again and one fur seal basking on an iceberg floated past us.

The Neumayer Channel was really impressive, right from the entrance where you're greeted by the Seven Sisters peaks (Fief Mountains). Further in there's Luigi Peak and then Jabet Peak and at the end there's Billie Peak. On the left side (Anvers Is) is Mt William. All with massive glaciers everywhere. The cloud came and went around the peaks and it was largely grey but you could tell that the sun was out above the mist as it was really bright at times. There was no blue sky but mean and moody it definitely was. We were on the move up and down the channel for the whole time, but that wasn't so bad as we got different angles of everything which is a bonus for me.”

A press release describing HMS Scott's work in the area together with a photograph of the ship in the locality has been published on the Royal Navy's website.

4 February

“After a good night's sleep we are beginning to feel the effects of the storm ahead. Sea state 6 and winds increasing rapidly. I've been up to the bridge taking photos of the sea, not great as they're through the wobbly glass, but better than nothing - outside is now out of bounds. I think we're going to take shelter back towards an island later today but the next couple of days will be 'not pleasant' apparently, especially once we hit the huge residual swell......I'm not looking forward to it but I'm trying not to think about it too much.”

5 February

“Today the ship is surveying, far from land. We're still moving around a bit but it's nothing compared to last night.

Here is a sketch of Deception Island that was done some time ago.. We passed by tantalisingly close to Neptune's Bellows, which is the entrance to the volcanic caldera. It is a surprisingly low looking island, I was expecting it to be a peak (without the top obviously) but it must be the very top of the rim that we see. There was a cloudy grey sky with just a chink of light getting through, giving a real sense of mystery - even unease - to the snow covered rim. The sunset came later as we were sailing away; it lit up the sky with brilliant gold and orange and cast a purpley glow over the old volcano as she disappeared behind us into the distance.”

6 February

“With a much quieter sea, I was able to get out on deck and paint as we sailed past King George Island at the northern end of the South Shetland Islands. A sunnier sky than of late provided a much needed glimpse of blue and a brilliance to the white of the snow that I''ve not seen in a while. Painting from the Port side aft of the ship, I was sheltered from the worst of the wind - which is largely inescapable here but even more so when travelling on the open sea at a steady rate of knots. My chroma paint is behaving well considering I'm using it on a silicone palette (instead of the usual sta-wet type); I frequently mist the surface of the paint with a water/vodka mix to ensure it doesn't dry out and this seems to work fine. I'm hugely enjoying the challenges and experience of working quickly as the icy islands pass me by - it's something I'll remember with immense pleasure forever more.”

7 February

“In transit today towards the South Orkney Islands. We passed a piece of detached floating ice-shelf 3.5 miles long and there have been some really high bergs too - one of the ship's officers used a sextant and did a calculation to find one was over 300ft high, and that's just the bit above the water.”

8 February

“By this evening we were on our way again, with what I have been warned is a "really big sea" to deal with in next few days. I will try to take and send through some photos, including of any wandering albatross if I can.

Last night we arrived off Signy Island on the South Orkney Islands. I had a stupendous morning today - RIB riding into the British Antarctic Survey's Signy research station with massive icebergs, curious seals and penguins in the water to meet us as we arrived at the station's jetty. There was a wee jetty this time, so no wading up to the neck of our dry suits like on our Half Moon island excursion.

I tried to get a seal to speak into my sound recorder but without success. There's a big fur seal colony right by the research station, which was noisy when we arrived but by the time I was able to visit it most had gone into the sea - except for those who were sleeping.

I had a good few hours painting; I managed a medium canvas painting (my largest size) which I'm very happy with, a double page in my dribble scribble watercolour book of the research station from the hill above (complete with snow spots) and I'd made a start on a small canvas not long before we had to leave, which I'll work on again when the weather is not so good. Talking of which, it deteriorated rapidly just after we got back onboard at about 1.30. It was never blue skies but when I was painting the sun did get through the cloud enough to give some quite dramatic light. Unfortunately we haven't been able to see the big island behind yet because of low cloud, there are some massive peaks on it but there's more bad weather on the way, so it's unlikely we'll get to see them at all.”

9 February

“I didn't get much sleep last night but managed to get through it ok. I videoed for a while when it was really bumpy, we're back to rolling now for the moment. I was just trying to get some kind of record of what it's like with all the creaking, rattling and thumping - not that I'm ever likely to forget! Got a couple of minutes of good video last night of waves over the front bow. Apparently we are going to go through an even bigger storm tonight and tomorrow - Drake Passage at its very best.”

12 February

“We made it across safely and are now back alongside, my time with HMS Scott is almost at an end. Today I ventured, for the last time, along the vast expanse of Bertha's Beach and sat in the dunes for an hour or so close to the small colonies of Gentoo penguins that still remain. I was able to enjoy some final doodles in my dribble & scribble book and attempted a page of more refined studies - both of which I will look back on fondly”.

“Travelling with HMS Scott has been the most brilliant experience ever and it has provided me with a painting platform like no other I have ever known. I have greatly enjoyed every second. I have improved my capability of working while on the move and also my ability to produce worthwhile paintings of icebound landscapes in fairly extreme conditions - and over short periods of time. I have experienced a spectacular view of what is the truly unique environment of Antarctica and I have had the privilege of seeing at first hand how a Royal Navy vessel is run. I have gained insight into her operational tasking abilities too - in this case the invaluable surveying in the Antarctic Region - and these are all things I will take away with me. Each aspect of this trip has been of great importance to me and they will all contribute to the overall success of the future work I now look forward to doing on my return home.”

“Thanks to all of you who have followed my icy adventure, thanks again to the Friends of Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) for affording me this incredible opportunity, and my sincerest, heartfelt thanks go to Ship's company HMS Scott, for accepting me as one of your own and allowing me to work amongst you - I will treasure the memories always.”

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