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Mirounga leonina, southern elephant seal. Although seals spend a lot of time in the water, they evolved from a land-dwelling ancestor over 25 million years ago and still have to come back on land to breed.

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Antarctic conservation blog archive

Taking the waters – Antarctic style

Nicola, Thursday 8 July 2010

Temperature: -31°C
Wind speed: 10 knots
Temp with wind chill: -45°C
Sunrise: none
Sunset: none

I’m always surprised at the similarities between our Antarctic lives and the experiences of the men on the expeditions 100 years ago. But the day after Midwinter with the temperature at -25°C we took part in a Scott Base tradition for which there seems to be no comparison – the polar plunge.

Mechanic Lex begins to cut the polar plunge hole with a chain saw © Matt Morley

Mechanic Lex begins to cut the polar plunge hole with a chain saw © Matt Morley

This is when we cut a hole in the sea ice, put on safety harnesses and take it in turns to jump into the icy 1.7°C waters of the Ross Sea. As I plunged through the floating slush of ice and saw the dark blue-green waters around me, the cold instantly numbed my skin and fingers, and I forgot how to breathe. For a split second there was a wonderfully thrilling feeling of being in the unknown … and so I did it again!

'Super Science Man', Science Technician Steven Sun, prepares for his polar plunge © Don Duke/USAP

‘Super Science Man’, Science Technician Steven Sun, prepares for his polar plunge © Don Duke/USAP

Bobbie takes the plunge whilst Tom holds her harness © Don Duke/USAP

Bobbie takes the plunge whilst Tom holds her harness © Don Duke/USAP

Followed up with saunas and hot showers we shared video clips of our plunges – some did it wearing just shoes, some in fancy dress or bikinis; some made a big splash and others dipped a toe in the water then elegantly slid in without getting their hair wet!

Later I remembered that the only time the members of the expeditions had dipped into the water was by accident, putting a leg through the tide-crack, or falling through thin broken sea ice, some never to be seen again.

Why do we do it? Maybe it’s because we all appreciate experiencing the extremes of the Antarctic environment - provided there’s a warm sauna to run to afterwards!

Posted in Antarctica, Climate & weather, Social life

One Response to “Taking the waters – Antarctic style”
  1. August 3rd, 2010 at 12:30 pm
    Anthea says:

    Awesome craziness, particularly love the Mrs Claws outfit

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