Preparing for the Next Antarctic Adventure

A couple of days ago, the Bark Europa arrived in Ushuaia, finding her moorings in the city's main port. She has just completed the second trip of the Antarctic season, visiting the South Shetlands and the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula, finishing
Now she is berthed in the port of Ushuaia, getting ready to welcome new voyage crew on board. Before she embarks south once more, she needs to get ready again. There is a lot going on behind the scenes before the first voyage crew steps on board.

Time is of the essence. Work starts immediately after the previous voyage crew leaves the ship. The following three days at port are reserved for provisioning, refueling, cleaning, and fixing whatever needs to be fixed. Outgoing and incoming crew join forces to complete the tasks ahead and make the ship ready again to brave the rough waters of the Drake Passage on her next adventure further south, back into Antarctic waters. These are very busy days for her permanent crew: storing supplies, bunkering diesel, removing the trash, preparing the cabins, and fixing sails that were damaged during the last trip.

After all preparations are complete, Europa is ready once more for the icy waters of Antarctica and its rugged coasts, where its wildlife, visits ashore, and sailing will integrate to offer a different lifestyle for us to enjoy during the next three weeks.

Bark Europa offers a good and unforgettable platform to explore the elusive and unforgiving Seventh Continent, an experience that is the closest representation of what it must have been like on board sailing vessels visiting the continent during the heroic age of Antarctic exploration.