A mesmerising world of ice awaited a university student from Aberfeldy on his first major sailing trip aboard a tall ship to Antarctica.
Alex Maciver (18) missed New Year in Perthshire as he was aboard the Bark Europa, representing the 17th Perthshire (Aberfeldy) Scouts, on ReQuest2021.
The explorers on the Shakleton/Rowett Expedition of 1921-1922 went to Antarctica on a ship called Quest. They took a small contingent of Boy Scouts along with them.
The recent sea journey of the ReQuest2021 project was arranged by Alan Noake of Kent Scouts, who dreamed of recreating elements of Ernest Shakleton’s historic voyage to Antarctica 100 years before.
Alex was lucky to take part on the mission to carry out geographic research in the farthest flung region of the world.
Alex had to be tough to go in Shakleton’s footsteps.
Having first flown to Buenos Aires in Argentina on Boxing Day, nine other scouts from the UK along with Alex and two adult leaders went aboard the huge three-masted ship which has a permanent qualified crew to see the novices right.
Alex was away for three unforgettable weeks during which he suffered seasickness and bumps and bruises as he manned the deck.
He had a dip in water that was 0.1 degrees C and had a number of whale and penguin sightings.
Alex said one of the most poignant moments of his voyage was arriving at Port Lockroy, a settlement which has Antarctica’s only British post office.
Port Lockroy was founded in 1943 by James Marr who was one of the original Shackleton’s Scouts.
“This was a particularly poignant landing for the group.”
He got up close and personal to a lot of different species of penguins and took samples of the ice and carried out research experiments.
When he returned home to Aberfeldy last week he brought photographs, stories – and lots of dirty washing.
The physics student at Heriot-Watt University said one thing he’d missed on his travels had been Irn Bru. The other thing was his family pets, two dogs and a cat. Alex joked that it was a relief to be able to stand up in a shower – the washing situation on board the Bark Europa was very cramped.
His worst accident was when the ship listed and a heavy pair of binoculars on a shelf above his bunk fell on his head.
Hoisting sails and dragging ropes took its toll on his back.
“Sailing the wild Drake Passage was a big experience,” he recalled. “I think there was only one of us who didn’t get seasick.”
A madcap moment was when the sailors went for a very quick dip in the close to freezing sea.
“The temperature was 0.1 degrees C. It was just in and out in seconds, it was blimming cold.”
According to Alex, the most longed for bit was when the boat came into Orne Harbour, the first point of land after the rough crossing over four days of the Drake Passage.
The inlet was surrounded by the most enormous mountains covered in snow and was the ReQuest’s first time actually setting foot on the continent of Antarctica.
On January 23, the ten-strong team made their way back up the Beagle Channel to Ushuaia, Argentina.
Three weeks at sea, after £10,000 worth of fundraising, was “one hundred per cent worth
it”.
Alex said “you couldn’t put a price put on it” when remembering the great time he’d had.
And back on dry land, the ReQuest2021 group are still good friends.
“I think like-minded people tend to get together and we all really bonded as a team,” he concluded.
The lasting aspect of the project is legacy, where Alex and the rest of the team now share their experience and encourage other young people to undertake their own projects.
●A JustGiving page started by Kent Scouts hopes to raise £100,000 to make future ReQuest projects possible. Visit https://bit.ly/32XgQu0
