2nd March 2018 USHUAIA – Preparations for the trip. Behind the scenes 

 A trip like we are about to undertake on board the Bark Europa, with a total count of 52 days sailing the Southern Ocean and South Atlantic, involves quite a lot of work and preparations. A few days are necessary to get everything ready after returning from her last trip to Antarctica. Some sails must be repaired, torn by the strong winds and harsh conditions that we are about to endure ourselves on our epic journey visiting Antarctica, South Georgia, Tristan da Cunha and finally mooring at Cape Town. Rig require attention as well to guarantee an adventurous, safe and enjoyable sailing. Provisions have to be loaded to face the long period we will all spend at sea, cleaning represents a never-ending duty and countless arrangements need to be taken care of. 

Everyone from the crew was kept busy preparing for this upcoming long trip. By the end of the day, the team had succeeded in finding a place for everything, though not without some difficulty, for the quantity of the stores which have to be packed was massive for a ship like our beautiful old lady Europa. 
Full days of hard crew work on port are necessary to prepare the vessel in earnest for the expedition’s needs and get her ready to start our new adventure.