Tough time for the Belgians
Published on 17.01.2012 - Antarctic Ice Expedition
Dixie Dansercoer and Sam Deltour do have a frustrating time these last days. Because the winds are not favorable and they still are so far away from Novo !
When one looks at the map their website has published, it's quite impossible not to be dumbfounded by the actual location of the expedition ; they are so far from everything ! Isolated in such an immensity. What about if they had to be rescued ? Could any plane fly such enormous distances ? About 3.000 kil from Novo ?
These last days, Sam and Dixie had almost no wind : even if they have covered 53 kil on 15 January and 2 kil the 17, these distances are not enough to let them come back by their own towards the Russian Novolazarevskaya.
So what helps the spirit of both men for the present time is all the messages of encouragement their HQ receive every day. "It brings more power to them than one could imagine", writes Julie Brorwn on 16 January.
But the Belgians remain confident in the future ; first they have time before them, second, the team keeps high spirit, third, they have plenty of food and fuel left, fourth, their equipment and material are in perfect order. The embargo they had (and still have) on their computer needs only a good day sunshine to be able to have a full day good solar charge.
Julie Brown on 17 January : "Dixie and Sam epitomize this mindset. They know what they need to do and how they need to do it, but not all of the ingredients to their success recipe are in their hands. They knew when they embarked on this pioneering expedition that it would present tricky moments, and this very place where they find themselves stuck is such a point in their itinerary. They are waiting for their release...."
