At the end of January Russian sailor and adventurer Fedor Konyukhoz set out on his 86′ yacht ‘Trading Network Alye Parusa’ to set the record for the Antarctica Cup.
Konyukhoz has passed the halfway mark and has rounded Cape Horn. This is his fourth rounding of Cape Horn but the first time he has actually set eyes on it. Every other time he has passed during the night.
He is currently heading Northwest in the direction of the Falkland Islands. This will hopefully bring him milder warmer weather and avoid an “iceberg alley” which stretches East from South Georgia Island.
Konyukhov had been experiencing wild weather, wild seas and snow as well as sailing through scattered ice bergs as he dipped South to get round the horn. Progress has been slower than he would have liked and he is behind his anticipated schedule but as he has now passed the 62deg West halfway mark. He is on the home run as it were.
Read our earlier report here.
In 1977 legendary British explorer, mountaineer and yachtsman Bill Tilman was invited to join a group of adventurers aboard the converted tug En Avant. The expedition was organised and led by 24 year old Simon Richardson with the intention of climbing Mt Foster on Smith Island close to Antarctica. Richardson had accompanied the now 79 year old Tilman on some previous expeditions and Tilman had led an unsuccessful attempt on Mt Foster in the 1960’s. The En Avant disappeared without trace en-route from Rio De Janeiro to the Falkland Islands.
On 26th January Russian adventurer/sailor 
