Crossing the equator - Ticket To Antarctica

It’s a very exciting week here on board RRS Sir David Attenborough – we’ve just crossed the equator!

A view of the sunsetting over the ocean through a ship’s porthole. There is sea spray on the glass so the sunset and ocean are out of focus

View through the cabin porthole

This is an exciting milestone in our journey but before we learn all about what happens, and meet the mysterious King Neptune, we’re going to chat to Captain Ralph Stevens!

We received hundreds of fantastic questions for Captain Ralph from all over the world. We put him in the hotseat and quizzed him on what it’s like to be Captain, sea sickness and life on board. See what he said below…

Quiz Captain Ralph

To the Bridge!

The Captain is usually found up on the Bridge. Why don’t we head up there now? It’s up near the top of the ship, on Deck 9 with a 360-degree view of the surrounding ocean – important when you’re navigating!

A man wearing a shirt, with his back to the camera, is looking at navigation equipment on the Bridge of a ship — 2nd Officer Fergus Walker navigates

A cut-out image of a fluffy toy penguin, wearing a blue knitted scarf

Tour the Bridge

Take a look around the Bridge with our virtual tour. Can you spot Pebble Penguin’s cousin Basil, hiding up there?

Wait, isn’t it supposed to be getting colder?

Although we’re heading somewhere very cold, we’ve got to sail through the tropics to get there – so we hope you’ve packed some shorts!

On board, everyone makes the most of the hot weather by having a BBQ on deck.

Four men cook over a BBQ on the deck of a ship — Rich Turner

BBQs on deck are a must-do when sailing through the tropics!

The journey so far

Lucy Stephenson, Principal Scientific Officer on the SKILLSET science mission tells us more about her experience on board…

The SKILLSET team (part of the UK Polar Network) were on board for around eight days between the UK and Madeira. We had a jam-packed schedule, getting trained to use some of the ship’s science kit, like the aerosol lab and uncontaminated seawater system. We got to apply our skills and use real data collected by the ship, working together on different group projects. We also had training on other useful skills important for science missions, such as event logging, cruise leadership and lab management.

The crew were really generous with their time, giving us tours of different parts of the ship, and showing us their work. We had fun socialising, as well as working hard! In the evenings we had a quiz in the ship bar, had fun doing origami and played lots of board games and Mario Kart.

Despite two days of rough seas across the Bay of Biscay resulting in a few of us getting seasick, we still managed to spend time out on deck, enjoying watching dolphins bow riding (when they surf on the waves behind a boat) and seeing turtles bobbing around in the waters coming towards Madeira.

On the last day of the cruise, during an end of cruise celebration dinner, we thanked the crew for all their hard work by presenting them with a framed, handmade piece of art made by us, as is traditional on science cruises.

A taste of life on board

King Neptune has been spotted on deck

Crossing the equator for the first time is a big tradition for sailors, and the ‘crossing the line’ ceremony is an important rite of passage!

‘Crossing the line’ is one of the best known and longest traditions in seafaring – the first recorded descriptions of it are from around 400 years ago! We’re not too sure how it originated – some people think it was to ensure the people you were sailing with were able seafarers. Others think it was more steeped in superstition – appeasing Neptune god of the sea before ‘crossing the line’. Read more about the tradition on the National Maritime Museum website.

Fancy dress

As part of the celebration, everyone on board dresses up as different characters, with Neptune, Salacia, goddess of the sea, or a mermaid often spotted on board!

The Captain of the ship stands behind two mean in fancy dress. One is dressed as King Neptune, with a crown and beard. Another is dressed as Salacea, goddess of the sea, wearing a red dress, white wig and a tiara.

A woman dressed up as a lobster – she is wearing a red boiler suit with orange cardboard claws and head — Kirsty dressed up as a lobster

A woman dressed us as Po from the Teletubbies, in a red boilersuit with a red headband with a circle on — Po looks out for King Neptune!

Getting to know the ship

Everyone on board has their favourite place on the ship – a quiet spot for a cup of tea, a fantastic viewing spot, or some exciting science! Let’s meet some of the crew, and find out their favourite spots.

There are lots of great spots on board for wildlife watching

A view from a top deck of the ship, looking out over the helideck

Ellie Honan

Two people look to sea from the top deck of the ship

Ellie Honan

The Observation Deck is the perfect place to look out to sea

A man wearing glasses smiling at the camera

The day room is my favourite place – it’s a place where everyone hangs out and I really enjoy meeting with people and chatting away.
Martin Rowe, Deck Bosun

A bald man wearing glasses smiling at the camera

There’s a little spot at the back of Deck 6, out of the wind where it’s nice and quiet. You get a great view of what’s going on – when you’re down South you can watch the science without getting in the way. It’s nice to relax there.
Rich Turner, Purser

A woman in a hat and scarf smiles at the camera

I do have a favourite place – on the Bridge, where you have the big glass windows. Sometimes, you can just sit on a windowsill, you have a great view and its comfy and cosy – I just love it!
Theresa Gossmann, Lab Manager

My favourite part of the ship is the Bridge! Not only can we control the whole ship from here – we also have the best coffee machine!
Ralph Stevens, Captain

We spent so long thinking about how we’d use these labs, and then watching them get built. To see them in action, bustling with scientists and samples is so cool!
Sophie Fielding was involved in designing the ship and she loves seeing the labs in action.

So you’ve seen some of our crew’s favourite places. What is yours? Explore the SDA with our Virtual SDA platform!

Explore the virtual platform

Listen to Iceworld podcast

This episode features Captain Matt Neill and geologist Jo Johnson – they tell us what it’s like to explore and study the remote frozen places where people have never been before, and we learn more about the mysterious King Neptune’s Court!

Live from Antarctica

On 12 November , you can join a live broadcast from the ship as part of STEM Learning’s Protecting our Planet Day 2024. As part of the Protecting our Ice session, you can meet some of the team on board the ship and researchers at Rothera Research Station – live from Antarctica!

For more information and to sign up for this event visit the POP24 website.

An image of a screen showing a live interview from Antarctica

Last year’s live broadcast from Antarctica

Next week

Next week its all about food, glorious food! We met the SDA’s Chef Steve Carpenter and find out more about meals on board, keeping food fresh and store cupboard recipes!

A cut out of a bald man wearing glasses and a t shirt that has a picture of the ship on — Chef Steve

Life at Sea Back to Top Food, glorious food