The Island Sky Voyage 2023: Reflecting on the Journey.
It’s Antarctica Day!
Authored by Sharon Robinson It’s Antarctica Day!🎉We are delighted and privileged to be able to celebrate this day as we return to port in Ushuaia from Antarctica. The day celebrates the signing of the Antarctic Treaty in 1959, and reminds us that the world...
Voyage’s End: Just Skimming the Surface
Authored by Katie Thomas As our voyage comes to an end, I realise we are only just skimming the surface. More than 100 women and non-binary people with varied within the world of STEMM came together over 2 weeks ago. Each with our own unique story that led us...
Brilliant Minds Unite to Sustain Our Planet.
Authored by Raegan Pollard I had the absolute pleasure of gathering with this incredible group of women to discuss the Energy Transition over dinner as we sailed around the Antarctic Peninsula in the second half of our Homeward Bound journey. Our conversation...
Who are the climate change losers?
Authored by Marina Alexander What a privilege to be visiting an Adélie penguin colony today. Experiencing their curious antics from the Zodiac was not only exciting as we watched them drop awkwardly into the water, but also less disruptive for their homes on...
Listening!
Authored by Jennifer Copeland Our expedition leader cuts the engine of our rubber Zodiac boat, and the cold, clear silence of Antarctica surrounds us. She tells us to listen closely to the ice. We can hear it creaking, crackling, and occasionally even crashing...
From Icebergs to Emotions: Reflecting on our commitment.
Authored by Kirsten Maclean It is 6 a.m. I am grateful to be an ‘early riser’ given it’s a glorious morning in Antarctica. I stand on the deck of the Island Sky, rugged up in my multiple layers and enjoy the feeling of the crisp morning air on my skin. It is...
Thinking Ahead for Our Wellbeing
Authored by Noa Bruhis We continue to balance our days with landings, sessions, and collaborative working groups. We are immersed in the scenery, the conversations, and the personal work. All the while, our ship’s captain and his officers have been playing...
Antarctic Icebergs: Rapid Transformations of a Changing Landscape
Authored by Simone Bauch Everyone is mesmerized by the beauty of the Antarctic icebergs: different shapes, varying sizes, amazing hues of blue. We’re told that the number of icebergs we are seeing this early in the Summer is quite unusual, to the point that...
Message of hope
Authored by Linda Romanovska António Guterres you are in Antarctica, so are we. We hope you can hear us! Please take our message to #COP28: All leaders for climate action! We call for inclusive and collaborative leadership of all genders, nationalities, types...
Captivating Encounters with Humpback Whales
Authored by Maya Beano Witnessing humpback whales gracefully surface in the Gerlache Strait during sunset was a breathtaking moment shared by many of us on the Island Sky. As the Antarctic landscape painted a mesmerizing backdrop, the wonder among us echoed the...
The Winds of Change
Authored by Katie Thomas Sitting in a zodiac at the edge of the Antarctic continent, staring at a wall of snow-covered ice, we are invited to close our eyes and listen. The water laps at the shoreline, the wind rustles over the landscape, leaving a feeling of a...
Lessons from Palmer Station
Authored by Hannah Campbell The Island Sky team had the remarkable opportunity to visit Palmer Station, one of the United States research stations on the Antarctic Peninsula. Perhaps the most remarkable thing was that this was the first time Palmer Station had...
A Day in the Leadership Initiative in Antarctica
Authored by Alessandra Salgado What is a day like in the Homeward Bound leadership initiative in Antarctica? Accompanied by snowy peaks, today we had a workshop on leadership behaviors 💡, we took our curiosity about the impact of climate change to Goudier...
What lies beneath.
Authored by Gina Ziervogel The light and colour of icebergs is awe-inspiring. As with many things, much lies beneath the surface. This #homewardbound2023 Antarctic voyage is helping us uncover what lies beneath good leadership and be in awe of this special...
Creating our new home
Authored by Kirsten Maclean The Island Sky is currently home to approximately 109 women and non-binary people (plus ship crew, expedition crew and hospitality team), with a background in STEMM, dedicated to work as a collective to contribute to the...
At One with the Penguins
Authored by Catherine Lopes After an unexpected rough day sailing through the waves, we made it! Yes, we landed in Antarctica! It is cold and windy on Aitcho Island for us, but not for these penguins. We stood still watching them, but only a few of them stood...
We have arrived!
Authored by Niamh Shaw We’ve all become accustomed to a daily routine here on the Island Sky. I look forward to our morning announcements over the PA system, but this morning’s announcement was particularly special. Our expedition leader, Claudia, asked us to...
Recipe Antarctica : 2 Parts Penguin Power ; 1 Part “Drake Shake”
Authored by Karen Alexander Have you ever had a moment in your life that becomes a pivot for something bigger? When you let go and just “trust the process?” The last 24 hours has been just that for me and many of the Homeward Bound community aboard the Island...
Championing Positive Change: Planet, People, Resources and Collective Knowledge.
Authored by Lau Rosich As part our journey towards Antarctica, we made a 4 day stop to visit the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas). Our first day unfolded in the company of Cormorant dolphins, seals, and Petrel birds, accompanied by 3-meter swells that ushered...
We sing. We dance. We seek joy.
Authored by Anindita (Anung) Samsu Homeward Bound is about the leadership, strategy, and visibility of women and non-binary people in STEMM. It has also emerged during our voyage that Homeward Bound is about the joy we seek and cultivate together - through...
We are at a tipping point…
Authored by Maria De Giano, Anna Ferré Mateu, Claudia Alvarado We are at a tipping point... “Mother nature needs her daughters EVERYWHERE”- that was the message today from Homeward Bound Faculty presenter Fern Hames as we discussed how we will connect with...
The last time seeing green
Authored by Kathryn Michie Our time in the Falkland Islands has been full of surprises - extreme weather, gale force winds, and sheep sharing the beach with King Penguins. Looking over the windswept Gypsy Bay of Stanley (the capital of the Falklands) and...
The resilience of Falklanders
Authored by Isobel Romero Shaw At our cabin windows this morning, bleary-eyed in pyjamas, we had an unexpected sight... land rovers. After several days sailing around the outer Falklands, we had docked at the capital: Stanley, pop. c. 2500. The wind and rain...
A personal journey
Authored by Alexandra Jones We’ve been exploring personal strategy in this phase of the journey. Being strategic requires time to zoom out and dedicate attention to our intentions, choices and actions in life. As a sole parent with a young child at home, it’s...
Putting on our Happy Feet
Authored by Jac Madsen & Krys Auguste This morning we had our first experience with zodiacs, our new form of transport! We put our ‘Happy feet’ on land at Grave Cove the Falkland Islands, and were greeted by an incredible woman landowner, and a majestic...
Daily Correspondence, Ship’s Journal
High seas treaty, leadership, and Antarctica
Authored by Nichola Clark A few days into our journey, the captain announced we were 260 miles from the Falklands and Antarctica was another 300+ miles ahead of us. Many people may think that means we are in the middle of nowhere. My first thought, however, was...
Our fearless expedition leader
Authored by Laura Rosich In the vast expanse of Antarctica, Claudia, our fearless expedition leader, has indelibly shaped our leadership and expedition journeys over the past three weeks. Her leadership, a harmonious blend of assertiveness and kindness, echoes...
An Expedition or a Tour?
Authored by Marnie Ogg In Antarctica, Mother Nature controls the outcomes - not the marketing department; not the Cruise Company or the Captain; not even the hopes and expectations of paying guests. It is hard to count the many heart-opening moments we’ve...
Letters from the Heart to the End of the Earth
Authored by Elaine Martyn In the closing program of our 20-day journey to Antarctica, one of my fellow faculty members invited us to write a letter to ourselves, that she would then mail to us six months from now. What a gift, I thought, to be able to receive...
Global Purpose and Change – Journal two
Authored by Wendy Pring Our Homeward Bound sessions here in Antarctica have nudged me to think about leadership, responsibility, and collective actions for peace. Now that we are actually in Antarctica, we have been exploring the Antarctic Treaty, protection of...
Why Regular Cleaning of Outdoor Gear Matters
Authored by Helle B. Hydeskov Cleaning your outdoor clothes and gear is always a good idea. Why is that? In addition to the risk of different species being transported on outdoor equipment and thereby potentially establishing themselves as invasive species in a...
Connecting with nature – microbial communities.
Authored by Natalie Millán Aguinaga Antarctica is the iciest, coldest, and most remote continent which we tend to associate with different species of penguins, whales and seals. But what about the tiny communities that we can’t see with our naked eyes? In...
Drake Shake or Drake Lake?
Authored by Jill Peeters We experienced some fascinating weather on our passage from The Falklands to Antarctica. The Drake Passage between the most Southern Part of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula is known for its ‘Drake Shake’ or ‘Drake Lake’...
Reflections
Authored by Justine Murray Homeward Bound is a journey of self-discovery as well as an amazing amalgamation of women and non-binary people sharing ideas and aspirations for the future of our planet. As I sit in my warm ship cabin looking out over the...
Generating global purpose and change
Authored by Wendy Pring Our sessions on leadership have made me aware of the similarities between the Antarctic Treaty and the UN17 SDG Goal Nr 16- Peace Justice and Strong Institutions. And how we all have individual agency to role-model this and the benefit...
Imposters? Or increasing opportunities for collaboration?
Authored by Jacqueline Madsen “I’m curious. Who feels like they don’t belong here? Raise your hand” Homeward Bound co-founder Fabian Dattner began. About 80% of the room raised their hands. I am one of the people who raised their hand, as an electrical engineer...
Beyond comfort zones
Authored by Julia Wagemann Today is our eighth day aboard the Island Sky. A week ago, we boarded The Island Sky in Puerto Madryn for a journey to Antarctica, a journey beyond the comfort zone for many of us. As our journey progresses, this is the furthest south...