South Georgia...(where the h-e-2X-hockey sticks!?!)...

Nope, not the country that makes Russia a lil' hot under the collar nor that saucy place with the southern drawl where mint julep is served out front on the davenport...

Head further south towards the tip of South America, then southeast about a thousand plus nautical miles in the range of the 50's latitudes, look and smell for the hundreds of thousands of penguins, fur and elephant seals, towering glacier capped mountain peaks, and the graceful soaring of the mighty albatross...This awe inspiring location is where I will be volunteering as a kayak support on a rescue yacht which will be trailing Hayley Shephard.

Hayley will be attempting the first solo kayak circumnavigation of South Georgia (about 500 nautical miles)...not your average lilly dipper paddler! She has a few solo circumnavigations already under her belt including Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Islands. Her expedition is a dream that is finally coming to fruition after nine years of careful planning. It will also be raising awareness and funds for the plight of the albatross whose numbers are rapidly declining due to a variety of negative human impacts including, but not limited to, long line fishing practises at specific latitudes in which the albatross fish. For more info and to follow the expedition, check out her website: http://www.kayakingtosavealbatross.com/

The South Georgia government requires all expeditions in the area to contract their own rescue vessel due to the remote and furious nature of the area, as well as, the subsequent expense and time delay in deploying any land, sea, and/or air evacuation. The rescue yacht will be the Northanger, owned and operated by Keri Pashuk and Greg Landreth: http://www.northanger.org/. The kayak expeditions are also strongly encouraged to have a kayak support person aboard the vessel to accommodate and advocate on behalf of the kayakers specific needs and requirements. I will join the yacht team in this role in conjunction with pitching in on general sailing duties...between cookie tossing activities, of course:)

The team will be leaving this Friday January 22 for a night in Buenos Aires before flying even further south to Ushuaia. Here we will spend a few days sorting out last minute gear and then join the Northanger crew before setting sail for Grytviken, South Georgia. This is the ghost town whaling station where Shackleton and his men ended their epic adventure and where we will begin ours.

Well, that is the latest swash buckling shenanigans! Stay tuned for more on the Albatross and South Georgia...YAY!!