Three ‘followed Scott’

Press, 16 January 1986, Page 1

Three ‘followed Scott’

Mr Swan said the expedition had truly followed in the footsteps of Captain Scott, who reached the pole in early 1912 only to find the Norwegian flag already flying there. The expedition had left London in the Southern Quest in late 1984 to follow the route taken by Scott in the Terra Nova, calling at Cape Town, Lyttelton, and Port Chalmers. While based at Cape Evans, the five-man wintering party retraced the journey Scott called the “worst in the world.” “We wanted to do it for the historical connection, and also because it was the ultimate test of all our equipment,” Mr Mear said. The party walked from Cape Evans to Cape

Crozier, a walk also undertaken by Scott’s expedition, to collect penguins’ eggs. They also made three ascents of Mount Erebus, which lies between the capes. The Footsteps group did not have the same experiences as Scott, and would not describe the journey as the world’s worst, Mr Swan said. “It was a brave but safe trip.” Like Scott the three walkers were delayed in leaving for the Pole because of bad weather and, like him,'they finally set out on November 3. However, unlike Scott’s expedition, the walkers completed their return journey.

“We are fit and well,” a buoyant Mr Swan said yesterday. There had been no health problems on the trip, apart from some blistering to his face, and a strained knee through using crampons on blue ice, he said. Certainly all members of the expedition looked fit and healthy, if tired, yesterday. All were looking forward to a rest, and they are staying in private homes in Christchurch.

A member of the expedition’s organising committee, Miss Amanda Lovejoy, said those members of the group who had passports would return to the London headquarters in the next week. Passports would be organised for those who had lost their belongings when the Southern Quest sank.

A book and film of the expedition are scheduled to be produced in the next few weeks. Any money from these would be used to pay off debts.

Mr Swan scoffed at suggestions that any of the expedition members stood to make a lot of money from the venture.

“It took seven years to plan this expedition... No one person here is paid to be on this,” he said.

The master of the Southern Quest, Captain Graeme Phippen, said he “laughed at the thought” that the expedition might make him rich. He pulled a pink toothbrush from his pocket.

“This is all I have in the world,” he said. “I have just bought it in Christchurch.” Yesterday the expedition received the congratulations of the sons of Antarctic explorers, Sir Ernest Shackleton and Captain Robert Falcon Scott. In “The Times,” Lord Shackleton, the expedition’s patron, said he was initially sceptical about the project. However, he had been impressed with the professional organisation and approach of those involved. Sir Peter Scott sent a telegram to Mr Swan praising the success of the expedition. The loss of the Southern Quest did not detract from the “fantastic” achievement of the polar walkers, he said. Further reports, page 9.