New Sailing Circumnavigation Record Set

Last Friday, the Maxi Banque Populaire V sailing ship completed a circumnavigation of the globe and set a new speed record in the process. The ship, which featured a British captain and a mostly French crew, beat the previous speed record by nearly three days, and claimed the Jules Verne Trophy in the process.

The crew of 14, which was led by Captain Brian Thompson, managed to circle the globe in just 45 days, 13 hours, 42 minutes, and 53 seconds. (The previous record, was 48 days, 7 hours, 44 minutes, and 52 seconds.) They crossed the finish line in Brest, France at 10:14 PM Friday evening, bringing the 130-footmaxi-trimaran into port at last.

The ship managed to set a few other notable sailing records on its voyage as well, setting new marks for shortest times for reaching the equator, the Cape of Good Hope, and Cape Leeuwin in Australia. The record for fastest time equator-to-equator was also broken along the way as well.

The Jules Verne Trophy is awarded to the fastest circumnavigation of the world by any type of yacht and is named for the famous author who penned Around the World in Eighty Days. This new record is edging us ever closer to cutting Verne's vision of a circumnavigation in half, and while the next team will have shave more than 5 days off this record to achieve that feat, it no longer seems unlikely that someone will eventually find a way to circle the globe in a sailing ship in under 40 days.

Congratulations to the crew of the Maxi Banque for a job well done, and thanks to Lou-Phi for giving me the heads up on the record, even as it was about to be broken. As always, it is much appreciated mate!

Video: Rocking and Rolling On The Southern Ocean

The Drake Passage is one of the most notoriously treacherous bodies of water in the world. Sitting between the southern tip of South America and the Shetland Islands of Antarctica, it is a dividing line of sorts between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Because of its unique geographical location, it has been known to see some incredibly bad weather, which can make sailing through those waters a precarious affair.

Recently, ski guide Kent McBride experienced this first hand when he was returning from an expedition to the Antarctic in which he, and some teammates, skied a variety of locations in the region. After finishing up that excursion, the team was on its way back to Chile, when they caught out in the Drake Passage when things began to get a bit dicey. You can see the results in the video below, which show the waters there rolling dramatically, while we're informed that the wind gusts are topping out the Beaufort Scale, which is a ranking between 1 and 12 that indicates the force and danger of the winds. In this case, the ship was experiencing a 12 on that scale, which is hurricane force.

You can read more about Kent's adventures over at the Born Out There Blog, which is the official blog of First Ascent gear.

Warning: If you're prone to sea sickness, this video may be enough to put you over the edge.

Solo Sailing Update: Laura Crosses Indian Ocean

Teenage solo sailor Laura Dekker completed her crossing of the Indian Ocean last week, safely arriving in Durban, South Africa. This marks the end of the third leg or her solo circumnavigation attempt, which began in August of last year.

Laura remained mostly silent about her route across the Indian Ocean in an attempt to avoid becoming a target for pirates, but reaching South Africa is another significant milestone on her journey. According to her most recent blog update, she is currently in Port Elizabeth, and will soon be sailing around the Cape of Good Hope, which should be the last of the major challenges before she turns for home. That last stretch run will have her sailing up the western coast of Africa and returning to Gibraltar where she began.

The 16-year old has now crossed the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Ocean, and seems to be a lock for finishing her voyage safely, and thereby claiming the title as the youngest person to sail solo around the world. Laura made headlines when she announced her intentions to do just that at the age of 13, but bureaucratic  red tape kept her on dry land until she was finally able to set sail last year at the age of 14. Since then, she has been casually making her way around the planet, and seemingly having a great time doing it.

There is no word when she'll set sail again, but reading her journal entries online, Laura seems eager to get going. If the weather works in her favor, I imagine she'll brave the Cape soon enough and start final stage for home.

Volvo Ocean Race 2011-2012 Begins Friday

The 2011-2012 edition of the Volvo Ocean Race will get underway this Friday, when six teams will hit the high seas on a round the world yacht race that pits some of the best racers in the world against one another. The event takes place once every three years and is a test of both stamina and skill. This latest edition will require approximately nine months to complete, with the ships covering 72,000km (39,000 nautical miles).

At the moment, the crew of the six ships are hurriedly putting the final touches on their preparation for their voyages. On Friday, they'll set sail from Alicante, Spain for their first port of call, Cape Town, South Africa. From there, it is on to Abu Dhabi; Sanya, China; Auckland, New Zealand; Itajai, Brazil; Miami, USA; Lisbon, Portugal; Lorient, France and finally Galway, Ireland. The first ships are expected to arrive in that port city sometime next July.

The race is broken into nine different stages, with the crews racing day and night for up to 20 days at a time on some of those stages. The ships carry 11 crew members, many of whom hold multiple roles. For example, they each must be a trained sailor, but the ship must also have at least two medics, an engineer, a sailmaker, and so on. Over the course of their journey, these men and women will be put to the test as they endure extremes in temperatures, unexpected storms, and days at sea without rest.

To follow the race, keep an eye on the official website, which will offer all kinds of updates and live tracking as the event gets underway.

Missing Sailor Feared Eaten By Cannibals

Here's your "What century is again?" story of the day.

A 40-year old German sailor, named Stefan Ramin, has gone missing in French Polynesia, and is believed to have been eaten by cannibals. Ramin and his girlfriend Heike Dorsch, have been sailing around the world over the past three years, and stopped on the island of Nuku Hiva, where they planned to spends some time off the ocean.

A few weeks back, Ramin went for a hike on the island with a local goat hunter by the name of Henri Haiti. Later in the day, Haiti returned alone and told Dorsch that there had been an accident and that her boyfriend needed help. When Dorsh attempted to call the police for assistance however, Haiti tied her to a tree and sexually assaulted her, before disappearing into the jungle.

Later, Dorsh was able to free herself and alert authorities, who immediately began searching the area for signs of Ramin. Last Saturday, after a week of searching, they believe they discovered his remains in the ashes left over from a fire, where they found a human jawbone and teeth that are believed to have belonged to the German man.

According to the story linked to above, Nuku Hiva was the setting of two novels by Herman Melville and has had a history of cannibalism in the past. That said, there have been no reported cases in more than a century, and the island's 2000 residents are said to be baffled by what happened to the missing sailor. The one man who can actually tell the whole story, Henri Haiti, is still missing as well.

This is certainly a strange story to say the least. I know that there are a lot of remote places on the planet, some with indigenous people who live much the same way as they have done for centuries. But it has been a long time since I've heard anything about cannibals. While it certainly is still a possibility I suppose, but I think it's probably more likely that something happened between Haiti and Ramin, and Haiti tried to cover it up by burning his remains. After all, its pretty evident that Haiti isn't the most respectable of men to begin with.

Ramin and Dorsch were planning on sailing to New Zealand in a few weeks time, where they were also planning on ending their three-year voyage. Sad that it had to finish like this.

Thanks to Outside magazine for sharing this story.

Solo Sailing Update: Laura Dekker Arrives In Australia

Last week, 15-year old Laura Dekker achieved two major milestones in her attempt to sail solo around the world. First, it has now been a full year since she set out on her epic journey to become the youngest to sail around the globe, and perhaps more importantly, she safely arrived in Darwin, Australia, having successfully crossed the Pacific Ocean.

You may recall that Laura garnered a lot of attention when she first announced her intentions to circumnavigate the globe on her own at the age of 13. But before she could get underway, the Dutch government stepped in, with child protective services investigating her plans and whether or not she was ready for such a big adventure. That process took some time to complete, but eventually she was allowed to sail, and at the age of 14 she was able to hit the open water at last.

Since that time, she's been making slow, but steady progress around the globe, first crossing the Atlantic Ocean, then navigating through the Panama Canal. The Pacific was her next major obstacle, and with that now behind her, she'll be setting her sights on the Indian Ocean and eventually the Suez Canal. But for now, she plans to enjoy some good old fashion Aussie hospitality for awhile.

According to her blog, Laura arrived in Darwin last Friday, August 25, and while she is in good spirits, and her ship, the Guppy, is fine, the final approach to land wasn't great on her sails. The course took her across the Van Dieman Gulf, where the winds tore her main sail to shreds, which will keep her on land for awhile. She plans on staying at least through the weekend, when she hopes to use a borrowed boat to compete in a local regatta.

For now, it is time to rest, resupply, and repair the Guppy. The trials and tribulations of the Indian Ocean await, and after that, home at last. But Laura has earned some down time before she takes on those challenges. I can't think of a better place to recuperate than Australia.

Pole2Pole Expedition Update: On The Bike, Still Heading South

It's been awhile since I posted an update on the Pole2Pole Expedition, during which explorer Johan Ernst Nilson is traveling from the North to the South Pole using only non-motorized transportation. You may recall this past Spring he started on this journey by skiing through the Arctic, and while is original intention was to travel to Greenland and then cross the North Atlantic by sailboat, he actually ended up simply skiing to Canada instead.

Since then, he's been continuing the expedition by traveling on bike to the west coast, arriving in Vancouver a few weeks back, where he'll now get a new bike for the journey south along the Pacific Coast  Highway with his next stop being Seattle. Johan will also be joined by Carl Robert, a companion of his on Everest, who will go with him all the way to Ushuaia, Argentina, which is the next major leg of the trip. They hope to complete that leg in five months time.

If they are successful, that will put them at the southern most tip of South America just as the Antarctic season is about to get underway. They intention is that Nilson will then cross the Southern Ocean by sailboat, and then travel by skies to the South Pole. Five months seems like an ambitious schedule for the bike ride to Chile, but hopefully they'll be able to stay on course and get there on time.

Check out Johan's latest updates on Pole2Pole.net and follow along with his progress.

Solo Sailing Update: Laura Dekker Reaches Bora Bora

15-year old solo circumnavigator Laura Dekker reached another milestone on her round-the-world journey over the weekend, sailing into Bora Bora in the South Pacific. Her arrival in that island paradise puts her a little more than halfway across the Pacific Ocean.

When we last checked in with Laura back in April, she was getting ready to pass through the Panama Canal and challenge the sometimes turbulent waters of the Pacific Ocean. Fortunately for her, the seas have mostly been kind to Laura, who has made good time in the open waters. After visiting the Galapagos Islands, she arrived in French Polynesia a few weeks back, and has been enjoying the calm, clear waters ever since. In fact, Dekker has enjoyed it so much, that she has visited a couple of extra islands along the way.

She nearly had disaster strike on Saturday however, when she was moving into an anchorage on her approach to Bora Bora. Spotting a larger yacht already at anchor, Laura assumed it was safe to sail into the area, but she ran her boat, the Guppy, into a coral reef, scraping the bottom as she went. Luckily, there was no damage, but it was a good reminder of the dangers of the sea.

For now, Laura will enjoy a few days of relaxation in Bora Bora before she gets underway again. She still has a long ways to go before she is done, but she doesn't seem to be in any hurry, after all this isn't a speed record attempt. There are worse places to be than the South Pacific and Dekker doesn't expect to reach Australia until November.

So? What were you doing on your summer break when you were 15? I think I was mowing lawns and riding my bike to the local movie theater. That seemed like a long way to go back then. Laura, on the other hand, has already covered thousands of miles on her journey, with many more to come.

Pole2Pole Update: Heading South And Fighting Frostbite

Last week I posted a story about the launch of the Pole2Pole expedition which will see Swedish explorer Johan Ernst Nilson travel from the North to the South Pole in 12 months time. When I wrote that introductory article I was only able to link out to PR sites from expedition sponsor Audi, but now I have the full website where we can follow Nilson's progress online.

The year-long journey officially got underway last Tuesday, with Nilson setting off from the North Pole. During this first leg of the journey, he's attempting to kite-ski to Greenland, but according to updates to his blog, things have not been easy thus far. The ice walls that are common in the arctic do not make it easy to use the kites, and dragging the 110 kilo (242 pound) sleds has made for slow going thus far. The Swede has already broken (and repaired!) one of his skis, but is also suffering from frostbite on all ten fingers, although that seems to be a holdover from previous polar expeditions.

Still, Nilson seems determined to forge ahead with his expedition, and upon reaching Greenland he'll transition to dogsleds for a brief run to the northwest coast. From there, he'll sail across the Atlantic to Canada where he'll begin a long bike ride south to Patagonia, eventually reaching Tierra del Fuego. After that, it's back in the sailboat for a jaunt across the Southern Ocean, and then one final leg by kite-ski to the South Pole. When he's done, he'll have traveled more than 28,000km (17,000 miles) in a completely carbon neutral fashion without using any fossil fuels.

Be sure to follow along with Johan's progress on his website and check out the video below for more i

nformation on what he's up to and the polar history that he is paying homage to.

Solo Sailing Update: Laura Dekker Prepares For Panama Canal

It has been a few months since we last checked in on Laura Dekker, the 15-year old Dutch girl who is attempting to sail solo around the world. Back in December, she had just completed her crossing of the Atlantic and was enjoying the Caribbean Islands, which she planned to leisurely explore while she waited out the storm season. With that behind her, she's now on track to navigate the next treacherous leg of the journey – the Panama Canal.

Laura arrived in Panama last week, and has been taking her time in her preparations to sail through the canal, which can be a challenging experience for a sailor in a boat as small as her 38 foot Guppy. While that boat is nothing to sneeze at, she'll be out in the water with some huge cargo vessels making their way between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and the increased traffic, in such a relatively confined area, could be a cause for concern.

Fortunately, Laura plans to travel through the canal as part of the crew of another boat first, which will help her to get some knowledge of what she'll be dealing with when she does it on her own in a few weeks time. She'll make a there-and-back-again sail on April 10th and 11th, which should get her more than ready for the real voyage.

Once she's passed through the canal, she'll face the Pacific Ocean, which will bring entirely different challenges. It is one vast, magnificent body of water and it will take her a number of weeks to cross it. But for now, she seems to be enjoying her stay in Panama and soaking up some of the attention there, even if the media are being a bit challenging at times.

Keep up with Laura's progress on her blog by clicking here.

Pole2Pole Expedition: 12 Month Journey From North to South Pole Begins Today!

Swedish explorer Johan Ernst Nilson is about to embark on an epic and ambitious expedition that will see him travel from the North to the South Pole in under 12 months. If that wasn't challenging enough, he'll also be doing it in a carbon neutral manner, making the entire journey without the use of fossil fuels.

The projected is called the Pole2Pole Expedition and it is being sponsored by Audi. The journey officially gets underway today, with Nilson being dropped off at the North Pole, where he'll make the first stage of the journey on skis, heading south to Greenland. Once there, he'll begin the second stage of his journey, which will take him to Thule Airbase, located on the northwest side of the country. He'll make that trip by dogsled. The third stage of the expedition will be an aquatic one, as Nilson will then board a sailboat and cross the Northern Atlantic to Ottawa, Canada. Once there, he'll embark on the longest leg of the trip, during which he'll make his way from Canada to Patagonia on a bicycle. After that, it's back in the sailboat for a quick crossing of the Drake Passage, arriving in Antarctica late in the year, where he'll start the final leg of the journey, kite-sledding to the South Pole.

If all goes as planned, it'll take Nilson less than 12-months to complete the expedition, but it certainly won't be easy. He may be cutting it close on the far end, as we all know that the Antarctic season is quite treacherous after mid-January or so. But that is probably getting well ahead of ourselves, for the moment, he should be concerned with just getting out of the Arctic in one piece.

For their part, Audi is taking an active role in their sponsorship of the expedition. They've helped Nilson design a lightweight, yet durable, sled that he'll be puling behind him in both of the polar regions, and their vehicles are being used by a support team and documentary film crew that are following the explorer on his journey. Nilson will also be stopping at various Audi dealerships along the way to help cover that all important sponsorship.

In order to arrive at the South Pole by April 6, 2012, Nilson is going to have to average roughly 62 miles per day. Obviously that's not out of the question on a bike or kite-skiing, and certainly not in a sailboat. Skiing from the North Pole to Greenland will be the biggest challenge, which he may be finding out at this very moment.

It should be fun to follow along on this expedition. Stay tuned for updates.

Is It Time To Put An End To "Adventures" On The Indian Ocean?

Jon Bowermaster has posted a really thoughtful and interesting piece on Gadling today that declares that it is time to end Indian Ocean adventures. That's a very bold statement from a man who has spent plenty of time on the world's oceans, including the Indian, but Jon's message makes sense, and should serve as a warning for those sailing those treacherous waters.

What spurred Jon to write this piece is the recent high profile pirate attacks in that region. We've all been well aware of the pirate activity off the coast of Somalia for a number of years now, but the recent taking, and subsequent killing, of four Americans a month ago, has brought the subject back to the forefront. Just days later, a Danish ship, with three children aboard, was captured, making worldwide headlines as well.

According to the article, there are now more than 800 hostages being held by the pirates, who are conducting weekly raids on ships in the Northern Indian Ocean. They have mostly preyed upon shipping and oil vessels, but have begun to attack private yachts with increasing frequency of late, which has many wondering why anyone would sail through those waters to begin with.

Jon notes that he is someone who encourages what he calls "an adventurous life," but reminds us that we need to take caution and think things through when we set out on our adventures. There is a fine line between being adventurous and being foolish, and sailing into those dangerous waters is probably falls more on the foolish end of the spectrum.

So what do you think? Do you agree with Jon when he says that is perhaps best if we avoid a significant portion of the Indian Ocean for now? Should sailing, and maybe rowing, adventures in that area of the world be postponed or even cancelled? There is little doubt that there is significant risk attached to sailing the ocean in general, but adding the real threat of pirates to the mix is just asking for trouble.

Personally, I'm not one to tell someone they shouldn't go on an adventure, but I have to agree with Jon. It is  important that you be smart when embarking on what ever adventure you choose, and while some inherent risks are involved, why invite more trouble than you have to?

Nat Geo Adventure Presents Ten Top Female Adventurers

Yesterday was International Women's Day and to celebrate, National Geographic Adventure posted a fantastic list of Ten Top Women Adventurers with a number of ladies that we love getting a little recognition for their adventurous spirit.

Unsurprisingly, topping the list was Edurne Pasaban, who was named the People's Choice for Adventurer of the Year by Nat Geo a few weeks back. We all know Edurne's story by now, and she is certainly a worthy member of this list having spent nine years climbing all 14 of the world's 8000-meter peaks.

Joining Edurne on the list are Jessica Watson, the teenager who solo-circumnavigated the globe, ocean rower Roz Savage, who is busy preparing to take on the Indian Ocean, and climber Steph Davis, who seems to like to fall off of things as much as she likes climbing them. I'll let you discover the rest of the list for yourself, suffice as to say that it is populated with some fantastic athletes and explorers, regardless of their gender.

Missing Antarctic Yacht Update: Life Raft Discovered Adrift In The Southern Ocean

For the past few days I've been following the search for the missing yacht in the Antarctic. The Norwegian-flagged Berserk ran into trouble a few days back, and hasn't been seen or heard from since. Yesterday, the ship's life raft was discovered in the Southern Ocean, damaged and adrift, giving an ominous sign of the likely fate of the vessel.

Search and rescue efforts have been ongoing since Wednesday, when storms in the region allowed ships to finally reach the area where the Berserk activated its emergency beacon on Tuesday. Two ships and a helicopter from the Sea Shepard organization have been combing the area looking for clues, and they were the ones to discover the life raft yesterday. That raft was said to have a ripped canopy and was missing both its first aid kit and survival knife. There were no indications that it has been occupied however, and it is just as likely that it drifted away from the yacht on its own as someone used it for escape.

The water temperature in the area was reportedly -12ºC (10ºF) which means that if anyone were in the water, they would probably only live for a few minutes at the most. Now that more than three days have passed since we have heard any word from the ship at all, it seems increasingly unlikely that the crew is still alive. The search will go on today however, as their is still slim hope that they are still out there, adrift on the sea currents, and without power.

If there is any further news, I'll post updates.

Missing Antarctic Yacht Update: Two Crew Members Located

Yesterday I posted a story about the Norwegian yacht the Berserk which had gone missing off the coast of Antarctica. Today we have word that two of the crew have been located on the continent itself, and that they may hold some clues as to where the missing ship might be.

As reported, the ship had five people aboard when it set sail, and the intention was for two of them to be dropped off on Antarctica itself in an attempt to go to the South Pole by ATV. Apparently the delivery to the continent took place, as the ship's captain Jarle Andhøy and an 18-year old crew member were found alive and well yesterday and have reportedly been working with rescue teams to help locate the missing 14-meter, steel hulled yacht which has three other crew members still aboard, including two Norwegians and one British national.

The Berserk went missing two days ago after activating its emergency locator beacon amidst high winds and 25 foot waves. At the time, the ship was roughly 18 nautical miles off the coast of Antarctica. Since then, all attempts to contact the vessel have proven fruitless and the beacon has stopped transmitting. The bad weather, which is common in the Southern Ocean, has slowed down search and rescue operations, but there are a number of ships in the area now, including naval vessels from New Zealand and two ships from the Sea Shepard organization.

The SAR teams are still holding out hope that they might find the Berserk adrift at sea with her crew alive and well, but the longer it takes to locate them, the more unlikely that outcome seems to be. Lets continue to hope for the best as the search continues today.

Ship Goes Missing Off Antarctic Coast

A small sailing yacht has gone missing off the coast of Antarctica after setting off its emergency beacon yesterday amidst rough seas and high winds. The ship is believed to be carrying as many as five passengers, although exactly who was aboard at the time the beacon was turned on is still unknown.

The 14-meter steel hulled Berserk is operated by Berserk Expeditions and conducts small, private sailing adventures in various parts of the world. The yacht was believed to have visited the Antarctic continent where it may have dropped off two passengers who are attempting to drive ATV's to the South Pole. If that event did take place, then three passengers could still be aboard the ship, including the Norwegian skipper Jarle Andhøy. The boat was believed to have possibly four other passengers, including three more Norwegians and a British national.

Rescue ships have been dispatched out of New Zealand to the Southern Ocean to search for the missing yacht, but the bad weather in the region hasn't made the search easy so far. All attempts to contact the ship have also failed and the emergency beacon is no longer transmitting either. Weather reports indicate that 75 knot winds and 6 to 8 meter swells are hitting the area at the moment, although conditions are expected to improve later in the day.

The last known location of the Berserk was approximately 33 nautical miles off the coast of the Antarctic continent, just north of the Scott Base. The current outlook of finding the ship, and her crew, in good condition is a bit grim, but rescue teams are holding out hope none the less.

Solo Sailing Update: Laura Completes First Stage, Crosses The Atlantic

15-year old solo sailor Laura Dekker has completed the first stage of her journey by crossing the Atlantic Ocean and reaching the island of St. Maarten over the weekend. It took her 17-days to sail from the Cape Verde Islands aboard her 38ft yacht affectionally named Guppy.

Reaching the Caribbean is a milestone for the teen, who hopes to set a new record for the youngest to sail solo around the world. It has been a turbulent path for the Dutch girl, who saw her departure blocked by authorities on more than one occasion due to her young age. Earlier this year she was finally granted permission to sail, and set out for the Gibraltar. She then spent two months in the Canary Islands, preparing for the voyage ahead. Once the Guppy was sea worthy, and her skills were finely honed, Dekker hit the open ocean on December 2nd.

Clearly Laura is in no hurry, and she still has nearly two years to break the youngest record, which is currently held by Australian Jessica Watson, who completed the solo sail a few days shy of her 17th birthday. Dekker currently plans to sail the warm Caribbean waters for a time, with an eye on passing through the Panama Canal in the April/May time frame.

It is "so far, so good" for Laura. There hadn't been much news on her progress until now, but it seems that she is doing well and enjoying the experience. Her unhurried pace reflects a course that has been designed for her to avoid some of the perils of the high sea as much as possible. For example, Watson had to deal with the notoriously bad waters off of Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope, which can be very dangerous, but Dekker's route will allow her to bypass those hazards.

Congrats to Laura for completing the first phase of the journey. Well done!

The Greatest Adventure Hoaxes Of All Time

The Outside Blog has a great entry today that takes a look at the Top 5 Adventure Hoaxes of All Time. The entry was written by Erin Beresini, who says she was inspired by Christian Stangl's fake summit of K2 from earlier this year. While Christian did come clean on his own, the perpetrators of these fakes weren't so forthcoming.

The list includes the great Mountain McKinley hoax of 1906, during which Frederick Cook claimed he, and fellow climber Ed Barrill summitted the mountain for the first time. Also making the list was Rosie Ruiz's Boston Marathon win and Jennifer Figge's false claims of swimming across the Atlantic Ocean. Rounding out the list are Cesare Maestri's claims of climbing Cerro Torre in Patagonia and Donal Crowhurst's attempt to win a round the world sailing race back in in 1968 that ended in his own death.

To get the true gist of the stories, you'll have to read the full post, but my short summary above gives you the big picture. Is Outside missing any other big ones? What would you add to the list?