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A CHRISTMAS DAY OUTING by Leading Airman Steve Paris-Hunter
 Christmas day on board HMS ENDURANCE was no ordinary day. The ship was alongside at King Edward Point, Grytviken, South Georgia and Lieutenant Mark Jameson and I had chosen to get up at 05:00 to look at the weather conditions outside.
The situation did not look too welcoming with overcast skies and light snow falling. The air temperature was 3C and the winds were north westerly at 20 kilometres per hour (kph) with gusts of 35 kph. This gave us a combined wind chill factor of -6C. The water temperature was noticeably warmer at 2C and the weather was forecast to get a little worse before it got better.
With most of the Ship’s Company still sound asleep we both had an incredible urge to look for a little adventure on the water. This was only possible with sound preparation, knowledge, skill, suitable equipment and the correct safety measures in place.
We left the ship at 06:00 fully aware of the task in front of us. Our destination was Hamberg Glacier approximately 11 kilometres away. The weather did deteriorate and as the shower hit us the visibility reduced from 8 kilometres to less than 1 kilometre.
The wind was north westerly which was great because we had Thatcher Peninsular protecting us. We were able to find some incredibly calm water which made our journey through the unsurveyed Moraine Fjord very comfortable.
We used Global Positioning System (GPS) to monitor our progress. This proved very useful because it provided an accurate speed across the ground. This depended on wind strength. The tide in this area is minimal and therefore had little effect on our journey. We also took a compass and a chart in case the GPS failed.
 As a safety measure we agreed to call HMS ENDURANCE every two hours so at 07:57 we made our first call on our satellite phone to let them know that we were well.
Shortly after our call to the ship, Harker Glacier appeared in our sights. We pressed on at a good speed through a snow shower avoiding small icebergs commonly known as brash ice.
Within fifteen minutes the weather improved a great deal and before us was a wonderful view of the Hamberg Glacier.
With Hamburg Glacier in our sights we continued paddling through the ever increasing build up of brash ice. We eventually arrived at the foot of the glacier and the scenery surrounding us was fantastic.
We stopped paddling and all we could hear was the kayak gliding through the icy cold water beneath us. The wind disappeared completely and the water acted like a mirror making the view around us absolutely stunning and I gave a thought to the people on board HMS ENDURANCE still in bed. I wish I could have shared this wonderful experience with them.
It was at this half way point that we stopped for a break. When we rested it wasn’t long before we felt a little chilly. A hot sweet drink and a little food were much needed and warmed us nicely. As we were relaxing and taking in the magnificent surroundings, there was a small land slide right by us which crashed into the water and broke the silence with a mighty splash. A peaceful silence returned very quickly. It was amazing.
Sadly we had to leave and return to HMS ENDURANCE. Fully refreshed we started to paddle home. En-route we stopped and called the ship informing them that we were in good shape and would be back at mid day as planned.
The snow shower had well passed and it was clear a weather front had passed because it warmed up so much I had to take off my hat to cool down. It was remarkable. The sun shone bright and the visibility increased greatly.
We saw a lot of marine life and at one point I had a close encounter with an extremely playful seal.
 The paddle back proved a little more interesting and challenging because the last part of the journey was directly into wind. Our speed dropped from a comfortable 5 kph to a little over 2 kph in gusts. We estimated a sea state 3. We increased our effort greatly to maintain our speed. The GPS gave us the ability to monitor our efforts very closely.
We returned back to HMS ENDURANCE in time to practice capsizing skills which proved that even after five hours of paddling we were still fit and able. What a fantastic day we had and I will remember it for a very long time to come.
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