Shortly after 8 pm yesterday evening, the Molchanov appeared behind the point that marks the southern entry to Potters Cove. The Molchanov is a short white 2200 ton Russian ice breaker, specially strengthened for travelling in the Arctic and Antarctic seas. All hands were waiting on deck with cameras as she steamed into the bay ready to record the arrival of the Tom Crean.

Greg Mortimer- the Australian expedition leader responsible for the Molchanov's Antarctic journey - first transported his 50 guests ashore and introduced them to Jubany Base. Then he came over to greet us on Pelagic with his big powerful dinghy. This was very much envied by us , because the choppy sea of Potters Cove makes us very wet whilst travelling ashore in Pelagics smaller edition!

Mickey O'Rourke the cameraman, assisted by Frank Nugent, immediately took off with Greg Mortimer to go onto the Molchanov. Meanwhile Pelagic weighed anchor and moved close to the ship. The unloading operation went quickly and smoothly. The Molchanov's stern crane lifted the 'Tom Crean' gently and lowered her down into the icy Antarctic waters for the first time! A little bump against the Molchanov's hull as she touched the water and then the 'Tom Crean' was floating by the ship's side. Jamie Young lowered himself into her and took control of the tiller. The tow rope was thrown to Pelagic and we pulled the little wooden vessel back to our anchor site in front of Jubany Base.

The 'Tom Crean' is a close a replica of Shackleton's James Caird. It was designed by one of the South-Aris sailing crew, Jarlath Cunnane, who also supervised the construction in a youth training center in Ireland. She is entirely built in wood and the materials for construction were supplied by the Irish foreign service. Twenty three feet long with a beam of 7 feet, 'Tom Crean' has two 20 ft masts and a total sail area of 165 sq ft. The sails are synthetic, of a material called Duradon, but have the typical dark, brown-red color of traditional sails. Diagonally planked she is made of 3 layers of cold moulded plywood each 4 mm thick. There is absolutely no insulation!!! The keel is extremely shallow, barely 60 cm. Inside there are 2 tight lateral bunks and a tiny living space in the bow. This is the "Main Cabin" where cooking, resting and everything else will happen.

After a good night's sleep, today was dedicated to final preparation. First we held a long meeting to discuss every possible contingency including film making and the drill for the Crean's crew abandoning the 'Tom Crean'. They will be pulled onto Pelagic in their survival suits attached to a floating line. All day the five men worked on storing food and medical supplies. They practised working in their survival suits and finally made sure they have enough buckets on board to serve all purposes!

Communication with Pelagic was tested and the climbing gear for the traverse across the mountains of South Georgia to the final destination of Stromness was packed away onboard. Everyone is hoping for a weather window as soon as possible so we can make our departure on the first stage to Elephant Island

Elena Caputo