Stability in one’s life, not having one’s feet moving from under them, is generally a good thing. 

Stability on the Bark Europa is generally not. On a ship the deck is always moving, or at least it should be, but once one has his/her sea legs, one can enjoy the feeling of sailing to see new places and doing new things. Landings can always be a bit unstable with the rocking of the zodiac, waves lapping the shore, and rocks shifting under boot, but again, instability means the opportunity of new places and new things. Aside from the stability of visiting an active Antarctic station, instability on land means one is crunching and climbing a snowfield or glacier, or scrambling over scree, rocks and pebbles for new experiences. A ship that is not moving underfoot can mean one of two things: it’s in dry dock, or worse, heaven forbid, aground. So when I return home and friends ask, “How was your trip?” with a big grin I will answer, “Very unstable.”