Sea surface temperatures have been measured at the islands of Marion (47¿S, 38¿E) from 1949 to 1998 and Gough (40¿S, 10¿W) from 1956 to 1998. These are some of the longest records of their kind in the sub-Antarctic. Evidence for the passage of the Antarctic circumpolar wave is apparent at each island, presenting one of the most extended documentation of this phenomenon to date. The highest, negative correlation between the anomalies in each island's sea surface temperature record and the sea ice extent anomalies is observed directly south of each individual island. The sea surface temperature anomalies at Gough lead those at Marion by about one year in average, with mean precession periods of 8.6, 8.9, and 10.4 years in the 60s, 80s and 90s, respectively. These precession periods can be compared to those observed in the sea ice extent anomalies.