The next Annual General Meeting of the South Georgia Association will be held on HQS Wellington, on the Victoria Embankment in London, on Friday 8 May 2020. This is a new venue, after many years at the Royal Overseas League. More Details to follow in due course. See the HQS Wellington Website for more information about the venue.
UPDATE: The Meeting was cancelled, but the Committee did hold an AGM online, which all agreed was a success.
The South Georgia Association is delighted to notify our members of the Shackleton’s Final Quest voyage that has been scheduled for February 2022.
Organised by Ice Tracks Expeditions in collaboration with our friends at the James Caird Society, this spectacular voyage on the the newly launched MS Seaventure will pay tribute to the Heroic Age of Polar Exploration. The voyage is timed as a commemoration of the centenary of Shackleton’s final voyage south – the Shackleton-Rowett Antarctic Expedition (1921-22), commonly known as the Quest Expedition. Shackleton’s sudden death on the voyage on 5 January 1922 was a defining moment in the Antarctic age of heroism, which still resonates today.
The 20-day itinerary features the Falklands, South Georgia and a number of sites in the peninsula and surrounding islands, including (weather permitting) Elephant Island. Guests will also have the opportunity to fly on to Buenos Aires and cross the Rio Plata to Montevideo, the city that gave Shackleton a hero’s funeral.
For those that may be interested in the trip, Ice Tracks is offering an early bird discount of 15% off for anyone putting down a £500 refundable deposit by 29 February. This will secure a berth until 5 August 2020.
For further details, including a detailed itinerary, kit requirements and costings, please visit the Ice Tracks website HERE: and download a leaflet with more information here
The South Georgia Association’s Autumn event this year will be in association with the Devon and Cornwall Polar Society and it will be held at theDuke of Cornwall Hotel, Plymouth on the 19 October. Special rates for the nights of 18 and 19 October will be available for those attending the event. The hotel is well known for its connections with Sir Ernest Shackleton.
The morning of the 19th will be free with opportunities to visit the Scott Memorial, Scott’s birthplace and other attractions such as the Plymouth Marine Aquarium. The afternoon programme will include presentations on:
The work of the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS) since Hardy’s work at South Georgia in the 1920s to the present, by David Johns of SAHFOS
Remote medicine at South Georgia and the Antarctic, by Drs Daranee Boon and Ian Grant (both formerly of the BAS Medical Unit)
Speaker and title to be confirmed
Throughout Saturday there will be an exhibition of paintings of South Georgia by Theo Crutchley-Mack who was recently Artist in Residence at South Georgia funded by the South Georgia Heritage Trust. There will also be an exhibition of photographs of South Georgia wildlife by Oli Prince who has spent several seasons on the Island.
In the evening there will be a reception followed by dinner at the Duke of Cornwall Hotel. Full details including costs and booking details will be available here soon.
The South Georgia Association’s AGM and Spring Meeting will take place this year at the Royal Overseas League, London on Saturday the 13th April 2019. The meeting will start with a reception followed by the AGM and a talk by Elizabeth White, film maker with BBC Natural History Unit – “BBC at the South Sandwich Islands”.
Booking form, AGM agenda and nominations for the Executive Committee: