the polar campaign for a third year. The Belgica would wait for the results of
Lecointe’s efforts for 2 months near Rio de la Plata. If the negotiations were a
success, the ship would weigh anchor to sail for the Cape of Good Hope and on the
1st of August 1899 would leave for Melbourne. If the fund raising ended in failure,
de Gerlache would start on the return voyage to Europe. Once he would arrive in
Montevideo, the Captain would consider the expedition finished and declare that
the participation in the third year of the campaign should be on a volunteer basis.
Henryk Arctowski was the one who spoke the most during this meeting. In his
opinion the plan proposed by de Gerlache was excellent and he was looking forward
to its execution.
He summarized the plan for the 98–99 campaign as follows:
1. Attempt to break free from the ice pack.
2. Work as intensely as possible to further scientific research in the regions of the
Antarctic Ocean proposed in the plan and during the crossing between the Isle of
States and Rio de la Plata.
3. Once the team would arrive in Montevideo, everyone would consider their
duties complete. He understood this third point as a third campaign of the
Belgian Antarctic expedition with a clear and well defined purpose and that
should be performed on a volunteer basis by those who were invited to continue
the work on the ship during this optional year in other conditions than the
preceding ones.
Emil Racovitza stated that in accordance with a discussion held with the chief of
the expedition he would abstain from voting and from expressing an opinion
regarding the plan presented, except for zoological or botanical information the
Captain could potentially solicit from him.
The de Gerlache project was adopted with five votes in favor and one abstention.
The utility of this third year of campaign through the Sea of Ross and the Magnetic
Pole was also submitted to a vote, obtaining the approval of de Gerlache, Lecointe,
Cook and Amundsen. Racovitza and Arctowski abstained. Racovitza was asked if
he believed his work would be productive on the Isle of States. He answered that
“he will not participate to a third year of campaign as a member of the expedition,
but he will continue to work for several more months as long as no health issues or
family emergencies forced him to return to Europe. He did not wish to abuse the
good will of the Argentinean Republic”.
The idea of a trip towards the Australian coasts before going south after the end
of the Antarctic winter and the pursuit of research existed from the start of the initial
planning phase of the expedition. Adrien de Gerlache kept this possibility in mind
with the purpose of avoiding the difficulties of winter for his crew since survival
during Antarctic winter was unproven for humans at that time. But this hope
disappeared the moment they become prisoners of the ice pack. The plan proposed
by de Gerlache and Lecointe for the third year of expedition kept the initial flow.
Indeed, if the staff meetings were sometimes filled with illusions, the work plan for
the year 1898–1899 seemed realistic as long as the ship could escape from its ice
prison without too much damage.
596
A. Marinescu
Lecointe’s efforts for 2 months near Rio de la Plata. If the negotiations were a
success, the ship would weigh anchor to sail for the Cape of Good Hope and on the
1st of August 1899 would leave for Melbourne. If the fund raising ended in failure,
de Gerlache would start on the return voyage to Europe. Once he would arrive in
Montevideo, the Captain would consider the expedition finished and declare that
the participation in the third year of the campaign should be on a volunteer basis.
Henryk Arctowski was the one who spoke the most during this meeting. In his
opinion the plan proposed by de Gerlache was excellent and he was looking forward
to its execution.
He summarized the plan for the 98–99 campaign as follows:
1. Attempt to break free from the ice pack.
2. Work as intensely as possible to further scientific research in the regions of the
Antarctic Ocean proposed in the plan and during the crossing between the Isle of
States and Rio de la Plata.
3. Once the team would arrive in Montevideo, everyone would consider their
duties complete. He understood this third point as a third campaign of the
Belgian Antarctic expedition with a clear and well defined purpose and that
should be performed on a volunteer basis by those who were invited to continue
the work on the ship during this optional year in other conditions than the
preceding ones.
Emil Racovitza stated that in accordance with a discussion held with the chief of
the expedition he would abstain from voting and from expressing an opinion
regarding the plan presented, except for zoological or botanical information the
Captain could potentially solicit from him.
The de Gerlache project was adopted with five votes in favor and one abstention.
The utility of this third year of campaign through the Sea of Ross and the Magnetic
Pole was also submitted to a vote, obtaining the approval of de Gerlache, Lecointe,
Cook and Amundsen. Racovitza and Arctowski abstained. Racovitza was asked if
he believed his work would be productive on the Isle of States. He answered that
“he will not participate to a third year of campaign as a member of the expedition,
but he will continue to work for several more months as long as no health issues or
family emergencies forced him to return to Europe. He did not wish to abuse the
good will of the Argentinean Republic”.
The idea of a trip towards the Australian coasts before going south after the end
of the Antarctic winter and the pursuit of research existed from the start of the initial
planning phase of the expedition. Adrien de Gerlache kept this possibility in mind
with the purpose of avoiding the difficulties of winter for his crew since survival
during Antarctic winter was unproven for humans at that time. But this hope
disappeared the moment they become prisoners of the ice pack. The plan proposed
by de Gerlache and Lecointe for the third year of expedition kept the initial flow.
Indeed, if the staff meetings were sometimes filled with illusions, the work plan for
the year 1898–1899 seemed realistic as long as the ship could escape from its ice
prison without too much damage.
596
A. Marinescu