Having flown to the Falklands my first proper voyage on the SDA has begun. I won't lie this isnt my fist time at sea in her but it is the first time I've been down here on board. The journey accross drakes passage was shockingly uneventful with calm seas and a peacefull journey. This isnt very charicteristic of drakes passage a section of ocean famous for treating ships crews like cloths in the washing mechine.

Having made good time down to the peninsula we started testing the vessel. There are personel on the vessel who specialise in testing ice breakers and ship capabilitys. in calm waters we have done power and torque testing but next is the intersting bit... Ice testing.

Off to Antarctica, On the SDA I'm not doing as well at updating this as I should but perhaps being sat in quarantine will help. I am currently sat in an Essex hotel waiting to get a clean charter flight to the Falkland Islands where I will join the SDA.

I'm going to assist with Ice trails, a series of tests to see how well the ship can run in ice. I have other work to do on the ship too, with science equipment to work set up and test. Hope your looking forward to Photos of Ice and maybe a penguin or two.

The photo above is the from the ships first visit to Rothera.

Recently life has bee a bit too fraught to be writing about the SDA, mainly because of the SDA. Science systems continue to come along with Meteorology, Gravity, Acoustics and more all moving along at pace.

The Ship has left the ship yard in Liverpool too with Seatime and testing number one on everyones prioitys. Since leaving liverpool she has cerumnavigated the UK, done "full speed tests" off the coast of Anglsea and been in and out of Harwich.

Some of you may have even see the SDA in London for the UN climate summit (COP). For me the next big thing is sea trials, This is mainly an oppertunity to spend some time on the vessel and femilarise myself with systems, but apparantly im there "just in case...". I'll put up some of the press photos from london (all curtsy of BAS/NERC/UKRI.

The RRS Sir David Attenborough is a new research ship being built by BAS and the UK government to replace the RRS James Clarke Ross and the RRS Ernest Shackleton. Replacing two ships with one is no easy feat; so it's faster, better equipped and bigger than anything before it.

The new ship is 120m long and 14 decks high with space for over 100 people, more science gear than ever before and more cargo than our previous ships. Of course this also means more to maintain, install and learn about with the acoustic suite alone containing more science systems than just the JCR.

I travel up to Liverpool again tomorrow and will keep taking photos while I am there!

Recently I have moved into a new world for me, Ship Commissioning.

BAS are making a new Ice Breaker, the RRS Sir David Attenborough. Although you have followed my adventures on ships before, this is a whole new experience for me, with the difficulties that come with everything being new. New systems, new problems and no history to lean back on.

Its very exciting though. Despite the last year, progress has been good and for now at least access to the ship is good. I hope to put up a range of things here, but mainly some nice photos, as usual.