Sudbury, Ont., man’s Antarctica trip fulfills lifelong dream

Sudbury, Ont., man Randy Stevens fulfilled a childhood dream, venturing to Antarctica — a stark contrast to typical winter getaways.

Since he was a young man, Randy Stevens of Sudbury, Ont., has dreamt of travelling south — as far south as you can go.

“I’ve wanted to go to Antarctica ever since I was 10 and I read about Ernest Shackleton,” said Stevens.

“So I did it.”

It’s summertime on the frozen continent, so he signed up for the trip with Seabourn Cruise Line, arriving earlier this month. It took a couple of days to fly from Sudbury to the tip of Argentina to board the ship and the nine-day cruise to the land of penguins and seals.

Summertime in Antarctica means daytime temperatures reach just above zero. But Stevens said it felt warm.

“I was on the bow in a short-sleeved shirt. It was, maybe, 3 or 4 degrees … but it was still nice,” he said.

“It’s just an incredible place to be. We had wicked weather that was beautiful and warm.”

He even did a dip into the water that he said he’ll never forget.

“The water temperature was one-and-a-half, but didn’t feel cold, maybe because of the adrenaline,” he said.

“And I got a certificate to prove that I actually did it.”

He and his fellow passengers also did a submarine tour.

“The first dive, I did 270 feet with six people in it, as well as a pilot,” Stevens said.

“Then the second one was 520 feet — three feet from the ocean floor.”

The only regret he has from the trip was that he didn’t go out on an ice floe when he had the chance.

“I was out on the bow seeing four emperor penguins that shouldn’t have been where we were, so far south,” he said.

While an amazing sight, he had been outside for 90 minutes and needed a warm shower to recover, forcing him to miss the ice floe adventure.

“There’s a boundless amount of scenery that looks the same, but it’s just so beautiful that it’s hard to put into words unless you’re actually there,” Stevens said.

“Everything was perfect.”

The experience taught him that, even though it took a while, it was worth it not to give up on his dreams.

“If you want to go on a trip, do whatever it takes,” he said.

“You can’t take the money with you.”