EXPEDITION

“Do just once what others say you can't do, and you
will never pay attention to their limitations again.”
James Cook

The Expedition is scheduled to depart NZ between November and December 2007 as long as all preparations go as planned. Failing this the project will depart in November 2008.

The basis of the voyage is to utilise the favorable currents and winds in the Southern Ocean to speed my progress. The expedition will leave NZ and head south west towards 50 – 55 degrees South latitude and into the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), this is also the midst of the Furious fifties where the prevailing westerly winds swirl around the planet. These winds and current will help me to maximise my daily mileage and by staying above 60S I will avoid the worst of the cold and ice.

I will follow the 55s degree line across the Pacific dropping a little further to pass through the Drake passage and past Cape Horn. Then once through the Drake I shall head east and make landfall on South Georgia for a resupply and to overwinter for 4 – 5 months.

Departing South Georgia in about October I will carry on heading east towards NZ keeping just south of the sub-Antarctic islands such as Kerguelen and the Crozet Islands. Following this track I will eventually return to New Zealand having achieved a world first.

I will be hitching a ride on the Circumpolar current which is created where the tropical and polar waters converge, creating an easterly flowing current. I will also (hopefully!) benefit from the Westerly winds which roar around the planet in that region.

I will have to be aware of the sudden and frequent low pressure systems which sweep through this part of the world creating incredibly powerful storms. I will also need to keep an eye open for icebergs both large and small – although the larger bergs are visible from space so I will be able to track them long before I see them.

The wildlife will also pose a potential threat to my boat in the form of sharks, Orcas and other large whales as well as the highly predatory leopard seal. Contrary to common misconception there are no Polar bears
in the Antarctic!

The Southern Ocean

The Southern Ocean has long been regarded by mariners as the wildest of the oceans and has been described to in much maritime literature and legend. However the Southern Ocean was not officially designated as an ocean in its own right until 2000 when the International Hydrographic Organisation decided to delimit the Southern portions of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans into a fifth world ocean. It was decided after a large body of recent research recognised the importance of the ACC and its crucial role in global ocean circulation. The region where the cold waters of the ACC meet and mingle with the warmer waters of the north defines a distinct border – the Antarctic Convergence. The Convergence concentrates nutrients, which promote marine plant life which in turn allows for a greater abundance of animal life. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit and which approximates to the extent of the Antarctic Convergence.

Sea temperatures vary from about 10C to -2C. Cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and are frequently intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean. The ocean area from latitude 40 south to to the Antarctic circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on earth. Hopefully these winds will speed my passage around the globe.

In winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south in the in the Atlantic sector.

The ACC is the worlds largest ocean current and moves perpetually eastward, transporting 130 million cubic metres per second – 100 times the flow of all the world’s rivers! The ACC will also aid my voyage around
the globe.

At these latitudes – the roaring 40s, furious 50s and screaming 60s the prevailing westerly winds created by the Coriolis Effect live and they scream around the planet with no landmass to slow them down. These winds were used to great effect by the clipper ships reducing travel time around the globe by up to 6 months over the more traditional route across the Indian Ocean sometimes via India.

The Southern Ocean poses many natural hazards. Huge icebergs miles in length and width, smaller bergs and iceberg fragments and sea ice. High winds and large waves most of the year. Frequent powerful storms. Fog and poor visibility. The region is remote from sources of Search and Rescue. Perhaps the greatest risk to my boat is accumulation of ice on the deck and superstructure. In certain conditions this can form thick and fast compromising the stability of the boat. After much research this is why I have decided to overwinter on S Georgia to avoid the worst icing conditions.

Global warming

The Global Row will also be working to raise awareness of climate change and global warming and showing that it is possible to live off alternative energy sources such as solar and wind power.

It is particularly fitting that the Global Row should depart this year in the middle of International Polar Year. Which aims to focus attention on the Northern and Southern Polar regions with particular attention on research into climate change. Global Row will also be working closely with Virgin in their campaign to resolve global warming.

This will be particularly relevant as the voyage will be passing through a region which has already been significantly affected by climate change.

• The Southern Ocean has warmed up by 0.17C between 1950 and 1980
• In 1995 the Larsen A ice shelf disintegrated from the Antarctic Peninsula.
• In 2002 1,250 Sq. miles of the Larsen B ice shelf collapsed in 35 days.
• Warming in Antarctica is 5 times the international average +2.5C
  since 1945.
• The melt season has increased by 2-3 weeks in the last 20 years.
• The Adelie penguin population has shrunk by 33% in 25 years due to decline in winter sea ice habitat.

In the course of the expedition I will be taking daily meteorological readings and sending these back directly to my shore team who will make them available to any interested bodies/scientists.