News in this edition:

32-01. Polar Star Expeditions Plans Eleven Voyages For 2001-02.
32-02. Another Attempt Planned On Shackleton's South Georgia Route.
32-03. Sasquatch Traverse Prepares For Departure.
32-04. Autumn Re-enactment Of Shackleton's 'James Caird' Voyage Proposed.
32-05. Heard Island Climb Attempt Deferred To February.
32-06. Orbcomm To Provide Partial Satcom Replacement For Iridium.
32-07. Proceedings Of N.Z. Tourism Workshop Released.
32-08. Lectures, Book And Documentary On French Trek.
32-09. New Book To Explore Antarctic Tourism Issues.
32-10. Coming Events Relevant to Non-Government Activities.

IN READING PLEASE NOTE: This newsletter is being produced in the interest of improved information sharing in the Antarctic community. Inclusion of information in it should not be taken to imply endorsement, by the publishers of ANAN News, of any company, program or associated activity that is listed, nor that the activity has necessarily completed all environmental impact assessments required under the legislation of the 'home' nation.

The new Norwegian company Polar Star Expeditions Pty. Ltd. (PSE), which is to charter the ship 'Polar Star' for Antarctic tour operations beginning late next year, plans to conduct up to eleven voyages to the Antarctic Peninsula region in 2001-02 according to information released last week. 'Polar Star', whose original name was 'Njord' prior its purchase from Sweden by the Canadian company Karlsen Shipping earlier this year, is to undergo a major six month conversion in a yet to be named ship yard in the lead up to Arctic and Antarctic operations (ANAN-28/09, 16 August 2000).

PSE says that it is currently establishing its sales network for Antarctic voyages and that the 'tentative' schedules it has released for 2000-01 may be adjusted in the light of discussions it plans to hold with prospective tour agents and sub-charterers over the next few months. Except for the first voyage of the season which is to leave from Puerto Madryn on the south-eastern coast of Argentina, all other voyages proposed will leave from and return to the southern port of Ushuaia (ANAN-25/02, 5 July 2000). The season will be just over four months in length, with the first departure scheduled for 7 November 2001 and the last voyage returning to Ushuaia on 12 March 2002.

Of the eleven voyages currently listed, six are nine day trips to the north-western Antarctic Peninsula, two are of eleven days duration with the extra days being used to visit the north-eastern Peninsula, while three are each of nineteen days and involve journeys to the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas), South Georgia and the South Orkney Islands as well as the Peninsula. Information available to date indicates that the itineraries proposed are similar to those now offered by other tour operators in the South Atlantic region.

The price of berths announced for PSE's first Antarctic season range from $US2550-4900 for a nine day voyage, $US3200-6150 for eleven days, and $US5200-9950 for nineteen days. In the main these appear to compare favorably with prices being advertised by established operators for the coming 2000-01 Antarctic season.

'Polar Star' is ice strengthened, is eighty-seven metres long, twenty-one metres wide, has a draft of almost seven metres, and before conversion is close to 2500 gross registered tonnes. Once modifications are complete she is expected to be capable of carrying up to 94 passengers, six expedition staff, and a crew of around 30 (ANAN-22/01, 24 May 2000).

Passengers are to be accommodated in a total of 46 cabins arranged over three decks, 44 being two berth and the others three berth. With the exception of the three berth and two of the two berth cabins, all passenger cabins will have self-contained shower and toilet facilities. Four of the two berth cabins are to be fitted out as suites.

Polar Star Expeditions Pty. Ltd. has been established by Norwegian Ulf Prytz and the owner of Karlsen Shipping, Martin Karlsen. Prytz has some 25 years experience in the tourism industry in many parts of the world, and he is Chairman and the majority owner of Svalbard Polar Travel Pty. Ltd. which has been a major force in developing tourism around Spitzbergen (Svalbard) in the Arctic over the past decade. 'Polar Star' will be under charter to PSE for its Antarctic voyages and Svalbard Polar Travel for Arctic operations.

PSE says that it is currently looking to recruit a suitably experienced expedition leader to assist in planning tour operations and managing voyage activities, as well as a marketing and administrative person who has web and e-business skills. It is also developing a web site that is expected to be on line in the near future. The company recently announced that it is to open a branch office in Argentina next year.

[ANAN-32/01]

TO THE TOP

Three U.K. based adventurers plan to retrace Shackleton's historic 1916 crossing of South Georgia next month. If successful the 'Shackleton's Steps Expedition' will be the third such crossing made this calendar year, and the first of three currently known to be being planned over the next seven months (see ANAN-32/04 following and ANAN-29/02, 30 August 2000).

According to information provided by the organisers, the attempt on the route is to be made from the tour ship 'Grigory Mikheev' during its first visit to the island this season. The organisers say that they anticipate being landed at King Haakon Bay around 26 November and expect to take 3-4 days for the crossing to Stromness provided the weather is suitable. After deploying the group the 'Mikheev' is to conduct standard tourist landings along the northern side of the island during the crossing attempt.

The three who propose to undertake the trek are Jock Wishart, Duncan Nicoll and Jonathan Chastney, while Gary Walker is to remain on board the 'Mikheev' to provide communications support. Wishart and Nicoll have been together on several previous ventures, including a 63 day row across the Atlantic Ocean in an eight metre boat, and Jock has also undertaken a trek to the North Magnetic Pole. Chastney, who has previous mountaineering and sailing experience, undertook a number of climbs in the South Shetlands region in 1995.

During the crossing of South Georgia "replicas of Shackleton's original Burberry Gabardine clothing" will be worn by Wishart, Nicoll and Chastney. Plans call for the three to film traverse activities for the television production company, Tiger Aspects, which says it is developing the "first ever documentary" of the crossing for global broadcasting. Jock Wishart told ANAN today that the trio, who are to use small hand-sized digital movie cameras to record their activities during the crossing, face a major challenge in filming their journey given the conditions they are likely to experience en route.

Last year the U.S. based company White Mountain Films organised two expeditions to the South Georgia region for the filming of two versions of the story of Shackleton's 'Endurance' voyage. One is to be a documentary for broadcast on the U.S. Public Broadcasting System, and the other a large format IMAX® feature for exhibition in theaters world wide. Both films are scheduled for release in 2001. A crossing of South Georgia via Shackleton's route was made as part of White Mountain's activities however filming was only conducted at the start and near the end of the crossing, and it is understood that the majority of that journey was only covered by still images (ANAN-20/02, 26 April 2000).

'Shackleton's Steps' is the latest in a series of exhibitions, re-enactments, films and other ventures undertaken over the last few years, or planned, that have resulted from the rediscovery of Sir Ernest in recent times (ANAN-27/04, 2 August 2000). The U.K. magazine 'Geographical' reported in its October edition that a quarter of a million people visited two Shackleton expeditions in the U.S. in the last year. A similar exhibition, the centre piece of which is the original 'James Caird', is to run at Dulwich College in London from 30 October until 25 February 2001.

[ANAN-32/02]

TO THE TOP

The Netherlands-based Sasquatch expedition has reported that it is on track for an early November start to their planned 2,200 km, parasail assisted, traverse from the Patriot Hills in Ellsworth Land to the South Geographic Pole (SGP) and back. The decision to proceed follows funding uncertainties that led to the cancellation last August of the group's original plan to trek from Dronning Maud Land (ANAN-28/05, 16 August 2000).

The two men involved, Marc Cornelissen and Wilco van Rooijen, are scheduled to arrive in Punta Arenas, Chile, on 21 October. Commercial air operator Adventure Network International (ANI) may fly them from there to the Patriot Hills to commence their journey as early as 26 October if weather allows. Last year poor weather conditions significantly delayed ANI's early season flights into Antarctica on that route (ANAN-7/01, 27 October 1999).

Cornelissen told ANAN yesterday that he and van Rooijen are hoping that they can reach the Pole from the Patriot Hills in around 45 days, a time that is quite achievable provided the parasails can be used and weather conditions are generally good. They will each have four parasails amongst their equipment, ranging from 5 square metres in size for strong winds, to 12, 21 and 32 square metre sails for lighter conditions. The return leg is expected to take about 25 days as it will mainly be down wind. If the flight and traverse timetables are met they may therefore reach the SGP as early as mid-December and be back at the Patriot Hills sometime in the first half of January.

The two trekkers propose to set out from the Patriot Hills with between 75 and 80 days of food and other supplies. In order to lighten their load they are planning to leave food at two depots en route, one some 300 km into the journey near Latitude 83° South, and the other around the 600 km mark in around Latitude 87°. The exact position of the depots will be decided according to the strength of the winds they are experiencing as they travel southwards. In general, lighter winds will mean that the depots will be placed closer to the Pole, while strong winds, which could mean a quicker journey northwards later in the trip, may see the depots left further to the north.

Communications with the ANI's Patriot Hills base camp and the outside world will be maintained via the Orbcomm satellite system (see ANAN-32/06 following). An ARGOS transmitter will also be carried and it will be turned on every second day to up-date their position via satellite for watchers in the outside world (ANAN-18/01, 29 March 2000), or every day should problems be experienced with the Orbcomm hand-held unit. Search and Rescue cover during the journey will be provided by ANI.

Sasquatch's traverse is the last of a series of four expeditions organised by it in various parts of the world. Each venture has been based on one of the four elements of air, earth, fire and water, and has already taken its members to Peru, Australia, Ecuador and Papua New Guineau. The theme of the Antarctic project is water as the continent is the largest fresh water reserve on the planet.

The Sasquatch group's activity also includes another of its members, Edmond Öfner, taking two fourteen year old Dutch students who are affiliated with the World Wildlife Fund on a visit to the Antarctic Peninsula. The trio are scheduled to travel to the Peninsula on the 12 December voyage of the sailing barque 'Europa' from Ushuaia, Argentina (ANAN-30/01, 13 September 2000).

[ANAN-32/03]

TO THE TOP

Another expedition is being planned to re-enact Sir Ernest Shackleton's historic 1916 boat journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia and his subsequent crossing of the island from King Haakon Bay to Stromness. The venture, which is planned for April-May 2001, the same time of year as the original saga, follows the success of a German-based 'Shackleton 2000' expedition last January-February (ANAN-16/03, 1 March 2000), and three previous unsuccessful attempts to undertake the Scotia Sea voyage in small boats in the past decade.

The latest attempt is being organised by the U.K. based 'Shackleton Commemorative Expedition 2001' and is to use a replica of the 'James Caird', the boat used by Shackleton for his famous exploit. It is not known at this stage whether the boat replica has been constructed as yet, or what arrangements are proposed for deploying it and its crew at Elephant Island in mid-April, search and rescue (SAR) cover during the journey, or return of the group and boat from South Georgia in late May.

The April-May timing of the voyage will add to the difficulties likely to be experienced by the boat's crew as the austral winter will have begun, and the availability of shipping for transport and SAR cover will be limited at best. If successful the expedition's crossing of South Georgia along Shackleton's route could be the fifth such trek in a fifteen month period (see ANAN-32/02 proceeding and ANAN-29/02, 30 August 2000).

The leader of the expedition is Neil Laughton who late last year became one of the fifty people who have now climbed the highest mountain on each of the world's seven continents, including Antarctica's Vinson Massif. He has also skied to the North Geographic Pole.

Initial information indicates that the expedition aims to raise money for the U.K. Heritage Trust (ANAN-28/04, 16 August 2000), the Shackleton Scholarship Fund, and the Whaling Museum at Grytviken on South Georgia. The expedition has a web site however as yet it does not contain any information.

[ANAN-32/04]

TO THE TOP

An attempt by an Australian group to climb to the 2745 m summit of sub-Antarctic Heard Island in the South Indian Ocean which was originally scheduled for December has been postponed until February (ANAN-24/04, 21 June 2000).

The eight person expedition has been in discussions with the new owners of the 19 m yacht 'Spirit of Sydney' regarding transport to and from the island, however arrangements are not expected to be finalised for several more months as funds are not yet available. Organisers are now hoping for departure of the expedition from Fremantle in Western Australia around mid-January, with two to three weeks being spent on the island for the climb during February.

'Spirit of Sydney' is a proven performer in the Southern Ocean having been used for nine voyages to Commonwealth Bay, George V Land from Australia over the past decade. Six of these operations were in direct support of the private wintering expeditions at Cape Denison in 1995, 1997 and 1999 (ANAN-8/05, 10 November 1999). 'Spirit' was previously owned by Don and Margie McIntyre, however they sold it as part of their preparations for their 'Sir Hubert Wilkins' (ANAN-28/10, 16 August 2000) and world yacht race ventures (ANAN-21/01, 10 May 2000), both of which involve operations in sub-Antarctic and Antarctic waters.

If the Heard Island expedition is successful it will be the second time the peak has been climbed in just over a year; a four-person group having successfully completed what was the third ascent last January (ANAN-14/01, 2 February 2000). Last season's expedition was only the third to have reached the island's summit (ANAN-4/03, 15 September 1999).

[ANAN-32/05]

TO THE TOP

The 'Orbcomm' satellite data communication system is expected to be used by a number of small-scale, high latitude, non-governmental Antarctic expeditions in 2000-01 to maintain contact with the outside world, although it will not provide the type of 'real time' voice contacts as did the recently failed Iridium system (ANAN-29/04, 30 August 2000).

Several groups who are planning to conduct Antarctic traverses over the next few months, including the Dutch Sasquatch Expedition (see ANAN-32/03 proceeding) and the 'Danish South Pole Expedition 2000' (ANAN-26/03, 19 July 2000), are know to be planning to use the system this austral summer. A number of similar ventures are also expected to acquire it for operational support.

Orbcomm, which is headquartered in the U.S. but is mainly Canadian owned, has 35 satellites in 825 km, 'low-Earth' orbits. Thirty-two of the satellites only cover the area between Latitudes 45° north and South, the orbits of the remaining four taking them within view of the north and south Geographic Poles. It is the latter through which transmissions to and from Antarctica are relayed. In comparison the Iridium system consisted of seventy satellites all of which covered, and still orbit over, high latitude regions.

Orbcomm is also different to Iridium in a number of other ways, the key one being that it can only be used for transfer of data such as e-mails, no voice or image transmission being possible. E-mail messages sent on the system are limited to 200 characters in length, however despite this and the transmission delays involved, Orbcomm has the potential to be more reliable than high frequency radio transmissions this austral summer as the Sun is currently near the peak of its eleven-year solar cycle (ANAN-18/01, 29 March 2000).

Unlike Iridium, Orbcomm satellites cannot communicate with each other and as a result messages sent from Antarctica must be 'stored' on board the receiving satellite until such time as it is in view of a ground station. As all ground stations for the system are currently located in the northern hemisphere, Orbcomm says that it can take 2-3 hours for messages sent from Antarctica to arrive at their destination. This time is expected to be reduced to well less than an hour by the end of the first quarter of 2001 as ground stations currently proposed for South Africa and Australia come on line, although for this Antarctic season the 2-3 hour delay will apply.

Messages sent to an expedition group in Antarctica via Orbcomm from anywhere else in the world are first sent to one of the ground stations. Once there, messages for a particular expedition are routed to the satellite which has been assigned to the venture prior to it commencing, and the personnel on the ground in Antarctica must access that satellite as it passes over their location to download any messages held on board for them, and to dispatch any messages they have prepared for sending. To do this the ground party must know just when 'their' particular satellite is in view and the Orbcomm hand-held unit automatically provides the times involved.

The one kilogram, hand-held, portable unit sits comfortably in the palm of one hand, the front consisting of a display where in-coming messages can be read or out-going ones composed prior to sending, as well as a small keyboard on which messages are prepared. The unit, which sells for around $US1600, thus has the advantage of being light-weight, something that small scale expeditions, particularly those which involve man hauling, look for in a communications system. In addition it also functions as a navigation device by providing the position of the ground party using signals from the Global Positioning System (ANAN-21/10, 10 May 2000).

While the Orbcomm system is expected to remain operational, the company and seven of its subsidiaries, like Iridium before it, voluntarily declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. two weeks ago as a protection against poor overall sales over the past year. Several months ago it cut 112 people, or twenty per cent of its employees, from its staff, and recently slowed the construction of new satellites. Orbcomm says that it is currently talking with a number of investors regarding its future but says that it is confident that it can overcome its current problems.

[ANAN-32/06]

TO THE TOP

The Proceedings of the Antarctic Tourism Workshop held in Christchurch, New Zealand last June were released by Antarctica New Zealand (ANZ) earlier this month (ANAN-25/03, 25 July 2000). The N.Z. Government is expected to use discussions held at the workshop to determine whether it should develop a policy on Antarctic tourism, something that has been exercising the minds of a number of Antarctic Treaty System nations in recent years (ANAN-25/01, 5 July 2000).

The 75 people who took part in the meeting came from a wide cross-section of organisations, including several N.Z. and U.S. based members of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators, independent tour operators, potential operators, environmental groups, government officials from N.Z., the U.S. and Australia, and others with an interest in the region.

The 56-page report, which is available for $NZ20 a copy, can be obtained by contacting ANZ's Communications and Marketing Manager Vivienne Allan at: v.allan@antarcticanz.govt.nz

[ANAN-32/07]

TO THE TOP

French women Laurence de la Ferrière who undertook a grueling 2875 km, fifty-seven day solo trek from the South Geographic Pole to France's Dumont d'Urville station on the coast of Adelie Land in 1999-2000 is reported to be ready to embark on a series of lectures on her expedition in the next few weeks. The lecture tour coincides with the publication of a book and the recent release of a television documentary on her two and a half month journey across the polar plateau (ANAN-16/02, 1 March 2000).

de la Ferrière's French-language book is titled "Seule dans le vent des glaces" (Alone in the Icy Wind) and is being published by Robert Laffont. It sells for around $US17 in Europe, and possibly slightly more elsewhere. No ISBN number is available for it as yet.

The documentary 'Seule en Antarctique' (Alone in the Antarctic), was shown on French TV channel 'Canal+' last month and its producers Gédéon Programmes say that it has been purchased by Italy's RAI, Belgium's Canal+, and the National Geographic Channel in the U.S. Sales to other television networks are envisaged.

No dates or other details of the lectures are currently available and details will be provided in ANAN once they become available.

[ANAN-32/08]

TO THE TOP

A new book titled 'Tourism in the Antarctic: Opportunities, Constraints, and Future Prospects' is to be released by U.S. publisher Haworth Press early next year.

Pre-publicity for the book, whose author is Thomas Bauer, Assistant Professor in the Department of Hotel and Tourism Management at China's Hong Kong Polytechnic University, says that the 360 page tome will look at visitor profiles, discuss the impacts of tourism on the region, and explore barriers, opportunities, and future directions for the industry in Antarctica.

Bauer holds a Ph.D. in Antarctic Tourism from Australia's Monash University and the book is based on his dissertation. He has lectured and published on Antarctic tourism issues and is co-producer of a video titled 'Voyage to Antarctica' and an associated CD-ROM. During 1993 he was a visiting scholar at the Scott Polar Research Institute in the U.K and was also a member of the Project Antarctic Conservation team set up by Bernard Stonehouse.

Thomas has visited the Antarctic Peninsula, South Georgia, Ross Sea and the sub-Antarctic region south of New Zealand on tour ships. Since 1994 he has participated in five voyages and normally provides lectures to passengers on such issues as tourism management,wildlife, and Antarctic history. He has also taken part in two overflights to East Antarctica from Australia. Thomas is scheduled to visit Antarctica again in 2000-01 as a lecturer and boat driver on three voyages of the Peregrine Adventures vessel 'Akademic Ioffe' to the Peninsula region (ANAN-23/05, 7 June 2000).

The book is to be available in both soft and hard cover forms. The soft cover version (ISBN 0-7890-1104-2) is to retail at $US39.95 in North America and $US48.00 elsewhere, while the hard cover version (ISBN: 0-7890-1103-4) is available for $US79.95 and $US96.00 respectively. Full details of the book are available by using the search function on Haworth's web site or via E-mail at: getinfo@haworthpressinc.com

[ANAN-32/09]

TO THE TOP

YEAR 2000

16 October (Canberra, Australia)
19 October (Newcastle, Australia)
25 October (Brisbane, Australia)
1 November 2000 (Melbourne, Australia)
3 November 2000 (Hobart, Australia)
7 November 2000 (Adelaide, Australia)
14 November 2000 (Perth, Australia)
Presentations by Peter Treseder on his 1999-2000 cross-Antarctica attempt.
Contact: jodyh@yhansw.org.au (Jody Hoffman)

YEAR 2001

5 February (King George Island, Antarctica)
Fourth Antarctic Marathon and Half Marathon.
Contact: marathon@shore.net (Thom Gilligan)

May [Date to be set](St Petersburg, Russia)
Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting XXIV

July [Dates to be set] (Washington, D.C., United States).
IAATO year 2001 annual meeting.
Contact: iaato@iaato.org (Denise Landau)(invitation required).

20-24 August (Amsterdam, The Netherlands)\
COMNAP XIII (including the sub-committee on Tourism and Non-Government Operations).
Contact: jsayers@comnap.aq (Jack Sayers).

YEAR 2002

February [Date to be set](King George Island, Antarctica)
Fifth Antarctic Marathon and Half Marathon.
Contact: marathon@shore.net (Thom Gilligan)

July [Dates/location to be set] (Europe).
IAATO year 2002 annual meeting.
Contact: iaato@iaato.org (Denise Landau)(invitation required).

13-18 July (Shanghai, China)
COMNAP XIV (including the sub-committee on Tourism and Non-Government Operations).
Contact: jsayers@comnap.aq (Jack Sayers).

YEAR 2003

July [Dates to be set] (Seattle, United States).
IAATO year 2003 annual meeting.
Contact: iaato@iaato.org (Denise Landau)(invitation required).

TO THE TOP