S1 EP12 Sarah Lurcock - Six months a year, every year: A story of living on South Georgia for love & preservation
Release Date: 08/15/2019
S2 EP09 Jerome Viard - Bon appétit: Tales from the French Pastry Chef that Helped Feed South Georgia's Rat Team
Antarctic Stories
Jerome Viard grew up in France and later moved to the UK where he has enjoyed a successful career as a chef, having been head pastry chef at some of the best hotels in Cambridge.
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S2 EP08 Dr Lesley Cadzow - The Unusual Adventures of a Ship-based Expedition Doctor
Antarctic Stories
Expedition Doctor Lesley Cadzow was born in Scotland and studied to be a general practitioner in her home country before moving across the world to Australia, where she eventually landed a position with Aurora Expeditions as an expedition doctor on a polar expedition vessel.
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S2 EP07 Five Reasons to Avoid Crowdsourcing your Trip To Antarctica (and what to do instead) with Heather Thorkelson
Antarctic Stories
With an overwhelming amount of information about travelling to Antarctica on the internet, it seems like an easy way to narrow down your options is to ask other people on the internet (in FB groups or Lonely Planet travel forums, etc) what they recommend based on their experience when travelling there.
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S2 EP06 Theo Crutchley-Mack - Being an Artist in Residence on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia
Antarctic Stories
Theo Crutchley-Mack is a contemporary British artist whose work appears globally in private and public collections.
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S2 EP05 Alexia Spencer - Growing Greens 650 miles from the North Pole
Antarctic Stories
Alexia Spencer is Chief Operating Officer running day-to-day operations of Polar Permaculture, founded by visionary chef Benjamin Vidmar. Based in Svalbard, their mission is to improve accessibility to fresh and nutritious food through sustainable and resilient systems.
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S2 EP04 Howard Whelan - Part 2 - Tales from three decades of polar expeditioning
Antarctic Stories
We are joined once again by expeditioner Howard Whelan for Part 2 of his life story from the polar regions. In this episode, we continue Howard’s winding polar journey, including his involvement in the award-winning film Happy Feet, using laser scanners from a “bubble helicopter” to map grounded icebergs and sea ice.
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S2 EP03 Howard Whelan - Part 1 - Tales from three decades of polar expeditioning
Antarctic Stories
Howard Whelan is a polar expedition treasure having worked in the industry for three decades. His story begins long before, working in the dangerous environs of the fishing industry in Alaska as a teen, eventually becoming a journalist who started up Australian Geographic & then becoming part of the team that made the first Australian ascent of Mount Everest. And this was all before he ever set foot in Antarctica. In today's episode, Part 1 of 2, we'll get a front-row seat for Howard's fascinating stories.
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S2 EP02 Crimes in Antarctica - The cold, cruel, and desperate happenings on earth's most remote continent
Antarctic Stories
This episode is a slight departure from our usual programming. Buckle up for a deep dive into a truly fascinating topic...Antarctic crime.
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S2 EP01 Caitlyn Webster - Exploring the icy underworld through the eyes of a polar expedition diver
Antarctic Stories
Southern California-based Caitlyn Webster is an “Undersea Specialist” who interprets the natural history of everything and anything under the sea. As an experienced dry suit diver, in this episode, she regales us with stories of coming eye to eye with a Leopard seal underwater and exploring kelp beds amongst diving guillemots at Alkefjellet in Svalbard, while emphasizing the importance of keeping calm, being present and trusting in your dive partner.
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S1 EP 14 Tami Harris + Dave Weisman - How to choose the right adventure once you've caught the 'polar bug'
Antarctic Stories
Today on AntArctic Stories we have Dave Weisman and Tami Harris. Since retiring in 2012/2013, Tami and Dave have been spending about 75% of their time travelling internationally.
info_outlineFew faces in the sub-Antarctic world are as familiar as that of Sarah Lurcock, South Georgia Heritage Trust's Director on South Georgia.
Tireless in her management of the annual team that heads to Gryviken to manage the museum, the post office, and various goings-on in this remote outpost, Sarah is one of the strongest ambassadors for an island that so many love so dearly.
Photo by Heather Thorkelson
Many travellers recognize Sarah as the first local face they see upon arrival in South Georgia as she has spent years boarding expedition vessels and prepping visitors for their day visit to Grytviken.
Photo by Kerstin Langenberger
However, Sarah and her annually-rotating team are also largely responsible for the fundraising initiatives - largely from tourism vessels - that have paved the way for some groundbreaking projects to be completed in South Georgia.
Spending six months a year on South Georgia for over two decades, Sarah has truly dedicated her life to a place that many people only visit once in a lifetime and many more only dream of.
Listen to today's episode to hear Sarah's story and learn more about the future of South Georgia, the "pearl of the Antarctic".
HIGHLIGHTS
2:45 – The story of what drew Sarah to South Georgia in the first place about two decades ago
4:00 – Not too long ago, women weren’t allowed on the island
5:20 – How Sarah ended up as the Director of the South Georgia Heritage Trust on the island
8:50 – Good news! South Georgia now has a full-time curator at the museum
9:30 – Ever wanted to work on a remote, wildlife-packed island? Sarah spills the beans on how other seasonal positions on South Georgia get filled
11:35 – What day-to-day life is like in Grytviken when they're dealing with roughly 80 cruise ships per season (and growing)
15:40 – Is there anything that Sarah misses when she’s living off provisions during her 6 months on the island?
17:15 – What life was like on South Georgia in the pre-internet age
19:45 – How dependency on the internet is changing things, even in our most remote regions
21:00 – Sarah talks about the epic planning and execution involved in the Habitat Restoration Project which successfully eradicated rodents - invasive species - from the island
27:00 – All involved in the South Georgia Habitat Restoration project are now a resource for other similar, logistically challenging initiatives being attempted worldwide
29:00 – Sarah takes us through some of the different groundbreaking projects being undertaken on SG in order to preserve both her nature and her unique place in history
40:00 - The centenary of Shackleton's death is coming up soon and there are plans for a commemoration...
43:00 - What Sarah and her on-island team do with their precious little time off in this wild wonderland
LINKS
The South Georgia Heritage Trust - https://www.sght.org/
Friends of South Georgia - http://www.fosgi.org/
Government of South Georgia - https://www.gov.gs/
South Georgia Heritage Trust Museum website - http://sgmuseum.gs/
UKAHT - https://www.ukaht.org/
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