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On April 24, 2009, Michael Palin became the 31st recipient of the Order of Magellan following such names as Peter Hillary and his father, Sir Edmund Hillary, Steve Fossett, Walter Cronkite, James Michner and Sally Ride. The event was held at the historic Union League Club on Park Avenue.
Circumnavigator Peter Mosse, the member instrumental in Palin’s receiving the Club’s highest award, gave the introductory remarks and invited Honoree, Michael Palin, along with International President William P Holm; International Past Presidents; International Board of Governors; Officers; and Chapter Presidents to step up to the dais for the presentation of the award.
President Bill Holm, assisted by the Board of Governors, Officers, and Chapterpresidents presented the Order of Magellan to Michael Palin, who then addressed his audience.
“This is a great honour from a great group of people and I can’t tell you how much it means to me to be surrounded by so many circumnavigators. It was 20 years ago that I made that journey – my first circumnavigation – since then I’ve been from North Pole to South Pole, round the Pacific Rim, across the Sahara and the length of the Himalaya but whatever the technical feats, traveling for me is about the people I meet.
“People are sometimes perplexed by the way in which I moved into travel documentaries via Monty Python. What could the two have in common they ask? Well the common denominator is, of course, a sense of humour which, along with anti-diarrhea tablets, is probably the most important thing you need to take with you when you travel…”
“Climate change is happening so fast and seems to be changing our world so profoundly that in a sense we need a new age of exploration to understand it. We need our best scientists to go to the scenes of great change and our best reporters to write about it.
“In many ways then, these times desperately need the true traveler - independent, inquiring, adventurous, humorous, courageous and insatiable. Ferdinand Magellan embodied all these qualities (I’m not entirely sure about the humour), and I think it’s no coincidence that the Circumnavigators Club chose him and his name to embody their highest ideals and to mark their highest award – which I feel deeply proud and honoured to have received tonight.” His speech is complete in The LOG No.2, 2009.
After a standing ovation, the evening came to a close when everyone received a commemorative glass of the Magellan Award Dinner.
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