Time on Ice: A Winter Voyage to Antarctica [Hardcover]

Deborah Shapiro (Author), Rolf Bjelke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1997

Nonfiction narrative of a couple's two-year voyage from Sweden to Antarctica aboard their 40-foot sailboat, during which they allow themselves to be frozen into an isolated Antarctic Pennisula anchorage where they stay through the winter for a total of one year. An ambitious expedition carried out with thorough planning and superb seamanship. The sights, sounds, and thoughts of bluewater voyaging and an Antarctic winter conveyed through easy-flowing text and first-class photos.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In 1989, Deborah Shapiro and Rolf Bjelke willingly set sail for a land of ice and snow. Their goal (reminiscent of the Age of Exploration): to captain a 40-foot sailboat, the Northern Light, from Sweden to the Antarctic Peninsula and back, and overwinter in one of the earth's most beautiful yet inhospitable places. During the 28,000-nautical-mile trip, they endured battering seas, treacherous ice flows, and complete isolation while frozen at the bottom of the world. Time on Ice is the result of their struggles and ultimate achievement. In alternating chapters, the married coauthors recount a remarkable three-year odyssey that peaks with their interment in an Antarctic winter. But the awe-inspiring vistas, seldom-seen wildlife, and personal discoveries far outweigh the dangers. This is a fascinating journey to one of the world's wildest and loneliest places.

From Library Journal

Husband-and-wife sailing team Shapiro and Bjelke, who hold the record for sailing the longest north-to-south distance (33,000 miles from the Arctic to Antarctica), relate their experiences of sailing a 40-foot sailboat from Sweden to Antarctica and spending the winter there. Writing alternate chapters, they describe in fine detail the 16-month adventure from rebuilding their ship, Northern Lights, and getting provisions for the journey, to surviving whiteouts, capsizing waves, and the daily struggle of living in the Antarctic Circle. Their love of Antarctica infuses their descriptions of the land and animals that inhabit the area and the illustrations collected in the beginning and end of the book. Also at the back is a diagram of the ship and a list of temperatures and provisions. Compelling reading; recommended for large public libraries.?Stephanie Papa, Baltimore Cty. Circuit Court Law Lib., Md.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press; 1 edition (September 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0070063990
• ISBN-13: 978-0070063990
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,723,210 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Experiencing Life, September 20, 2000

By 

Eli Green (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time on Ice: A Winter Voyage to Antarctica (Hardcover)

This book is one of the few books that portrays not only the classic aspects of human adventure but the more philosiphical underpinnings of our own life experiences in the clutter of modern civilization. Time on Ice will not only take you to antarctica, but to the desolation and isolation experienced therin. The moments of beauty, excitement, distress and love all connect at a very human level. I would recomend this book to anyone, something i have never done before.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A little slow, but overall a good book., September 1, 2001

By 

"jthurman_99" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time on Ice: A Winter Voyage to Antarctica (Paperback)

While I can't quite share the enthusiasm of several of the other reviewers (Viking spirit and all that), I thought this was a solid book and enjoyable to read. It generally moves along at a slow pace, but this is to be expected given the nature of the trip. Accounts alternate from Deborah's view to Rolf's. Of the two, Deborah is the slightly better writer and she sometimes hits on long bouts of excellent descriptions of everything from the weather to their mood. Rolf's writing is more technical but provides a decent balance to Deborah's. This may not be hardcore, edge-of-your-seat adventure (though there are tense moments), but it's a good bet for anyone interested in long distance sailing, Antartica, polar environmentalism, or any combination of these.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A nearly flawless and extraordinary polar expedition., November 10, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Miami, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time on Ice: A Winter Voyage to Antarctica (Hardcover)

Too frequently, we read of harrowing adventures caused by lack of preparation or mistakes. Not so in this case. "Time on Ice" is the story of an expedition by two extremely well prepared and experienced high latitude sailors who execute with near perfection a well thought out plan to winter in Antarctica. Sharing their experience and knowledge, they tell in excellant fashion, the incredible tale of "overwintering" in a land of magnificent beauty reserved for the few capable of enduring it's demanding climate. Deborah Shapiro and Rolf Bjelke are not only sailors, environmentalists, naturalists and explorers with superior survival skills, they are top notch writers and photographers who wrote a book which is exciting to read and difficult to put down. This book is a "must read" for sailors, people who are interested in wilderness and nature, environmentalists and anyone with an interest in the Polar regions.