Numb with cold and cut through by the searing wind, the crowd, at no point thick along Whitehall, stood stock still as first the Battle of Britain air-crews, then contingents from the army, the Brigade of Guards in sombre grey greatcoats, the Royal Marines in long, khaki coats and white helmets, the scarlet cloaks and white plumes of the Life Guards, passed slowly by.
In August, members of North Carolinas crew and Marine contingent were sent ashore to assist in occupying Japan.
The release was a-first-of-its-kind collaboration between the Teklife crew and the Japanese contingent.
On its return to base, the expedition learned of the presence of Amundsen, camped with his crew and a large contingent of dogs in the Bay of Whales, 200 miles (320 km) to their east.
The French contingent provided crews for a pair of Russian destroyers and two German U-boats, and the other Allied ships similarly activated Russian and German vessels to secure the area.
The three blockbuster films with the highest female contingent in the crew were revealed to be Tina Fey's cult classic Mean Girls, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and Honey – each of which had a workforce composed of 42% women.
The full contingent of 28,000 crew members included interpreters for Arabic and other languages, astrologers to forecast the weather, astronomers to study the stars, pharmacologists to collect medicinal plants, ship-repair specialists, doctors and even two protocol officers to help organize official receptions.
Participants included stars of the company, a 90-man orchestra, a chorus of 78, backstage crew of 28 plus sizable contingents of police and Parks Dept.
Before the cutter left port, the foreign contingent and the Japanese crew stood at attention on deck facing each other, then bowed deeply.
Ainslie is one of a large contingent of the 24-person crew borrowed from Team Origin, Britain's America's Cup challenger team.
