A privately sponsored eight-man expedition in a small auxiliary sailing ship, Solo, left Sydney on 15 December 1977 destined for the Antarctic. The objectives of the expedition included sea temperature and salinity measurements near icebergs, the collection of biological and geological specimens, and an assessment of the efficiency of a low-cost expedition such as this for future work in Antarctic waters. Solo, a 25-year-old steel yawl, has a length of 17 m, a 4-m beam and a draught of 2.5 m, and carries a 100-hp diesel motor. She was equipped with a satellite tracking device so that her position at the time of any observation might subsequently be located. The expedition was led by Dr David Lewis who, five years previously, had sailed single-handed to the Antarctic in his yacht Ice Bird (see Polar Record, Vol 18, No 112, p 79–83).