Solo Around Antarctica
Expedition News-Official Website
From 05.12.2007 to 25.01.2008 - Status: ongoing
The Russian Fedor Konyukhov
© International Polar Foundation
Russian adventurer Fedor Konyukhov (born in 1951) is attempting to break the record for sailing solo around the entire continent of Antarctica.
Although he is no stranger to the regions around the poles and has reached the North Pole on three occasions already, 56-year-old Fedor Konyukhov is better known for his achievements in a series of major races across the oceans of the world. He has sailed round the world four times and has crossed the Atlantic on no fewer than 14 occasions - including once in a rowing boat! He is the only person to have reached what some consider as the 'five poles of the extreme': North Pole, South Pole, the Pole of Inaccessibility in the Arctic Ocean (although it has to be said that no one knows where this really is!), Everest (the Pole for mountaineers) and Cape Horn, the Pole for sailors.
A member of the Russian Geographic Society, Konyukhov has been awarded the Order of Friendship of Peoples of the USSR, as well as the UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) 'Global 500' prize for his contribution to saving the environment.
This time around, the Russian adventurer is heading for the port town of Albany in Western Australia to try and beat the sailing speed record in the Antarctic Cup Racetrack. This is the only race that crosses three oceans while circumnavigating a continent - Antarctica in this particular case.
The starting gun fires in November in Albany and the plan is for Konyukhov's maxi-yacht, the 27-metre Trading Network Alye Parusa, to spend about three months covering the 14 600-mile route before returning to Albany.
