On June 21, our polar explorers, like the entire Antarctic community, celebrated the Midwinter day. On this day, the icy continent had the longest night and the shortest day.
There are many traditions of celebrating Midwinter at Vernadsky, most of which Ukrainian winterers have borrowed from their British colleagues.
In particular, the day started with pancakes from the expedition leader, Yurii Otruba – it is he who had to prepare breakfast for the whole team. The pancakes had different fillings, and the polar explorers said it was delicious.
Sports competitions continued: ladder walking, tug-of-war, and even shooting with a German air rifle. It is easy to guess who was envisioned as a target.
Traditionally, the main event of Midwinter is swimming in the Southern Ocean. Its temperature now reaches -2 C°. Although the weather seemed unusually calm and windless, and there were even nacreous clouds in the sky, due to the high humidity it felt quite cold outside.
But this did not become an obstacle: all expedition members took turns diving into the ocean. The newcomers, who are the majority in the 29 UAE (10 people), successfully passed the initiation into winterers in this way.
Mutual greetings of different stations are also an important part of the holiday. Among the photos, you can see a postcard made and sent out by Ukrainian polar explorers.
Let us remind you that on the eve of Midwinter a photo exhibition about the war in Ukraine has been opened at Vernadsky. It includes 15 photos by Kostiantyn Polishchuk, a Kyiv photographer who has been defending Ukraine at the front for more than two years.
Thanks to Oleksandr Matsibura for the photo from Midwinter.
