News in this edition:

34-01. Revamped Marine Expeditions Prepares For Nineteen Voyage Season.
34-02. MEI/WCC Creditors' Meetings Scheduled For Next Week.
34-03. Fly-Cruise Operations Mooted For 2001-02.
34-04. Incline, Crevasses And Weather, Slow NAE Traverse Pair.
34-05. Weather Delays Main Inter-Continental Flight Operations.
34-06. Traverse Groups Wait in Chile, South Africa, For Starts.
34-07. Peninsula Again Key Ship Focus, Landings To Fall Slightly.
34-08. South Georgia Crossing Part of Larger Adventure Program.
34-09. 10% Growth Likely In 'Core' Ushuaia Visitor Numbers.
34-10. Yacht 'Le Sourire' To Conduct Fly-Sail Voyages From KGI.
34-11. Up To Six Yachts May Participate In Marambio Fly-Sail Operations.
34-12. Holtanna Climbers Yet To Finalise Return Arrangements.
34-13. Heard Island Attempt Abandoned For This Season.
34-14. Vendee Globe 2000 Underway, BT Challenge approaches B.A.
34-15. Shackleton Documentary For Air In U.K.
34-16. 'Iridium' Saga Continues.
34-17. Coming Events Relevant to Non-Government Activities.

IN READING PLEASE NOTE: IN READING PLEASE NOTE: This newsletter is produced in the interest of improved information sharing in the Antarctic and sub-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 concerned.

Marine Expeditions (MEX), the new Canadian company that has taken over from the now defunct Antarctic tour operator Marine Expeditions Inc. (MEI), is preparing to commence a two ship, nineteen voyage, Antarctic tour season on 21 November, six days after the Trustee of bankruptcies for MEI and the related World Cruise Company (WCC) is to hold public meetings of MEI/WCC creditors in Toronto, Canada (see ANAN-34/02 following).

MEX says that it has chartered the 120 passenger sister ships 'Lyubov Orlova' and 'Mariya Yermolova' for the 2000-01 season. 'Orlova', which is scheduled to conduct eleven voyages between 21 November and 16 March, is expected to carry between 1100 and 1300 passengers to the Antarctic Penisula region, and 'Yermolova' a further 800-900 on eight voyages between 28 November and 16 March. One of each ship's voyages is to include visits to the islands in the Scotia Arc during the season. 'Orlova' is being marketed as the 'Marine Discovery' and 'Yermolova' as the 'Marine Adventurer II'.

MEX was formed in mid-August following MEI's failure on 28 July, and the new entity has been conducting voyages to the Arctic with the 'Lyubov Orlova' since then. The new company was established by several former senior managers of MEI who combined to acquire "selected assets", including the trading name 'Marine Expeditions', from what MEX says was a "secured creditor of MEI". The former MEI officials involved in the purchase were Dugald Wells who became MEX Chief Executive Officer, and Patrick Shaw, who was named President.

Wells and his then partner Sam Blyth formed MEI in 1992 and the WCC in 1997, and oversaw both companies via the umbrella organisation Blyth and Company Travel (BACT) until the respective collapses, while Shaw had been responsible for MEI ship operations since 1993. MEX says that Sam Blyth is not involved with it in any way, and that it has no connections with BACT. Blyth is understood to be marketing tours to tropical and other parts of the world under the BACT banner.

CEO Wells said in a statement to MEI's former clients recently that MEX's policy "is to protect passengers who booked cruises with MEI by providing them the trips they purchased, regardless of whether or not any deposit payments have been made", but "provided the orginal payments have not [already] been refunded". ANAN has been told by MEX that most clients who were owed trips as a result of MEI's problems were provided with them during the recently completed nothern summer operations. The Trustee for the bankcrupy company has indicated however that other MEI-related issues remain (see ANAN-34/02 following).

Patrick Shaw told ANAN that at its year 2000 meeting last June, the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) had voted to reduce MEIs membership status from Full to Probationary Member because the tour body felt that the provision of shore excursion services to WCC's ships in Antarctica by MEI was against IAATO by-laws. MEI staff were on board the two ships WCC operated in Antarctica last season to manage ship-shore operations, however both vessels carried more than the 400 limit required for IAATO membership (ANAN-11/03, 22 December 1999). Due to the problems MEI was then experiencing no one from the company was able to attend this year's IAATO meeting.

If MEX operates successfully this season and it can maintain the high load levels that MEI achieved, analysis indicates that the revamped Canadian operator could maintain the 14-15% market share that MEI achieved in 1999-2000 (see ANAN-34/02 following). MEX's web site is currently indicating that one of the eight 'Yermolova', and two of the eleven 'Orlova' voyages are fully booked. One of those 'Orlova' voyages is being run to support the scheduled 5 February running of the Fourth Antarctic Marathon and Half Marathons on King George Island in the South Shetlands (ANAN-18/03, 29 March 2000).

MEX has taken over the offices used by MEI in Toronto and continues to use the same logo, phone and facsimile numbers, and internet addresses.

[ANAN-34/01]

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The legal firm that has been appointed Trustee of the bankrupt Marine Expeditions Inc. (MEI) and the World Cruise Company Inc. (WCC) has announced that it has scheduled a public hearing in Toronto, Canada, for all creditors on 15 November. The hearing follows WCC bankruptcy last May and MEI's in mid-August, and the Trustee has indicated in the lead up to the creditors' meeting that it has received a "significant number of claims" from both individuals and companies on several continents.

In recent years MEI had captured a large percentage of the market with its low price, high throughput, approach to Antarctic tourism. MEI's demise is significant for the industry as a whole for in 1999-2000 it carried 14% of all Antarctic sea-based tourists, a percentage that is better than all except that of Orient Lines (18%), which operates of the 450-550 passenger 'Marco Polo'. In fact in 1999-2000, MEI and WCC, which had a similar low-price strategy in the 'world cruise' market, between them carried some 27% of all the tourists who visited Antarctica by sea. While the reasons for MEI's failure remain a matter of much conjecture, its links to WCC are considered by many analysts to be one of the factors behind its closure.

Several media outlets in both Canada and the U.S. have in recent months been reporting what appear to be high numbers of complaints about WCC and MEI operations. The latter have focused on problems that occured on Arctic voyages on the 'Lyubov Orlova' to north-eastern Canadian ports and Greenland in the last few months of MEI operations, although the new Marine Expeditions (see ANAN-34/01 preceeding) says that the problems experienced were primarily related to unseasonal ice conditions. A web site was established earlier this year by a so far unidentified person to collate the views of former MEI/WCC clients and act as a clearing house for information regarding the companies.

MEI was formed in 1992 by Sam Blyth and Dugald Wells and was part of the firm Blyth and Company Travel (BACT). MEI commenced Antarctic tour operations in 1993 and utilised a variety of Russia-sourced ships up until its closure last August. These included 'Akademic Boris Petrov', 'Livonia', 'Professor Multanovskiy', 'Akademic Sergei Vavilov', 'Alla Tarasova' (now the 'Clipper Adventurer'), 'Disko', 'Akademic Shulyekin', and 'Akademic Ioffe' (ANAN-23/05, 7 June 2000), and last season for the first time the 'Lyubov Orlova', which the new company Marine Expeditions is to use in Antarctica in 2000-01 (see ANAN-34/01 preceeding).

The WCC, which was formed in 1997, was a legally separate company to MEI within the BACT group, however the two were very closely linked in operational terms, sharing office space and some resources in the one building in Toronto, Canada. Its aim was to provide 'round-the-world' voyages of a more 'conventional nature' than MEI, but with what both companies said last year was the "same focus on education, learning and discovery". WCC operated two large ships to Antarctica in what was its first and last season earlier this year, carrying close to 1700 passengers to the South Shetland Islands region (ANAN-17/07, 15 March 2000), however it collapsed last May when its ship 'Riviera' was in Tahiti in the South Pacific (ANAN-23/03, 7 June 2000).

The creditors' meeting comes as Marine Expeditions, the successor to MEI, prepares to commence operations for the 2000-01 season (see ANAN-34/01 preceeding).

[ANAN-34/02]

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Argentine company All-Patagonia is understood to be developing plans for fly-cruise operations from Marambio station on Seymour Island off the north-eastern Antarctic Peninsula in 2001-02 in conjunction with an as yet un-named, ice strengthened vessel capable of carrying up to eighty passengers.

Few details of All-Patgonia's mooted fly-cruise operations have been released, however normally reliable sources in South America indicate that planning is well advanced, and that contracts may be signed in the next month with a vessel operator from the U.S. All Patagonia has confirmed that they are working on a fly-cruise operation, but are unable to comment on the vessel involved at this stage for commercial reasons.

The fly-cruise venture follows smaller-scale fly-sail operations planned by All Patagonia this austral summer centred on Marambio (see ANAN-34/11 following) and Chile's Frei station on King George Island (see ANAN-34/10 following), and should it prove viable it has the potential in the long-term to change the nature of tourist activity in the Peninsula region. The connecting flights to Marambio for any larger venture would be from and to Ushuaia, Argentina, and are likely to be undertaken by a C-130H 'Hercules' aircraft chartered from the Argentine Air Force (see ANAN-34/11 following). The aircraft operate into Marambio's single 1,200 m runway which lies within 200 m of the station.

If successful a fly-cruise operation would enable a ship to undertake more voyages during the short Antarctic summer, allow more tourists to be carried in a season than via the current 'conventional' operations from Ushuaia, reduce the price of visits to the region, and potentially increase the geographic scope of voyages.

While the fly-cruise concept appears to have considerable potential, in practice there are a number of problems that must be overcome before such a venture can be successful. The key issue is the weather, as flights into Marambio can often be delayed by low cloud ceilings and sometimes strong winds, however other logistics issues are also involved.

Attempts were made to undertake fly-cruise operations from Frei nearly ten years ago however these were not successful due to weather disruptions and have yet to be repeated. The impact of weather, particularly in situations where low cloud and visibility is involved, may decrease in the future however if new generation, satellite-supported, air navigation techniques are introduced for Marambio, Frei and other similar airfields in Antarctica (ANAN-17/03, 15 March 2000). It is not known however whether any consideration is being given to establishing such procedures for either airfield in the near future.

According to information available on the web site operated by the Council of Managers of National Antarctic Program (COMNAP), the Marambio runway is located on "permafrost". Reports from the pilot of a U.S. private aircraft that visited there late last year indicates that the surface can get very muddy during the day at the height of summer (ANAN-29/05, 30 August 2000). COMNAP data says that up to fifteen C-130 flights are made each year to Marambio in conjunction with Argentinian national program operations, while a further 100 intra-continental operations are made to the surrounding region from there by Air Force Twin Otter aircraft.

Another challenge for any Marambio operation is the need to ferry passengers and their baggage from the station to the shore close to where the ship will anchor, and in reverse at the end of each voyage. The station on Seymour Island lies on a plateau just over 200 m above sea level and access from the airfield to the ship is likely to have to rely on station helicopters, and if the vessel does not have a helideck, ship-shore operations with small boats; both of which are factors that will add to the logistics complexities of the operation.

All Patagonia says that while the 'Hercules' is capable of carrying up to ninety passengers, in practice no more than seventy can be carried into or from Marambio due to weight limitations related to runway length and condition, and for reasons of "passenger comfort". The one way flight between Ushuaia and Marambio normally takes about three hours, and while the Hercules is a well proven, versatile aircraft, the amenities available to passengers on board are well below what most tourists have become familiar with in recent decades.

Any ship that is likely to be used for the cruise part of the operation will have to be capable of operating without refuelling for several months so that it would only have to return to Ushuaia once during a 3-4 month season. It will also have to be capable of carrying sufficient food and other items for an extended period, although there may be a need to supply it with some fresh food items via the flights from Ushuaia.

All Patagonia was established in 1991 and has offices in Ushuaia Tierra de Fuego and El Calafate in Patagonia.

[ANAN-34/03]

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Norwegian Antarctic Expedition (NAE) pair Rolf Bae and Eirik Sønneland, who commenced their traverse to the South Geographic Pole (SGP) from Troll station on 20 October, appear to be making steady but slow progress southwards as they climb up the slope towards the main plateau, skirt crevassed areas, and experience delays due to bad weather (ANAN-33/07, 25 October 2000).

Little detail is available about the two men's progress, however it is known that due to the un-supported nature of their venture they each set off on their journey pulling sledges weighing around 165 Kg. During the first 180 km of the trek their main challenge will be to pull the heavy sledges behind them as they climb from Troll's elevation of 1270 m to the main plateau level at around 2600 m above sea level.

A report received from the two men on 1 November, which was day 13 of their traverse, indicates that by then they had travelled a total of 32 km almost due south from Troll. It appears however that at least a day had been spent zig zagging through a crevasse field, manouevers which may have probably added considerably to the distance the pair had actually travelled, and that poor weather had confined them to their tent for a day or more.

Despite the difficult conditions, reports indicate that Bae and Sønneland were happy with the progress they were making on their 1900 km trek to the SGP. Other groups planning traverses this southern summer have yet to arrive in Antarctica (see ANAN-34/05 following).

[ANAN-34/04]

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Persistent bad weather in the Patriot Hills region of Ellsworth Land over the past week has delayed the start of commercial air operator Adventure Network International's (ANI) heavy-lift inter-continental flight operations this season. While the company's chartered Twin Otter aircraft are believed to have been positioned in the Patriot Hills and at 'Blue 1' in Dronning Maud Land (DML), flights by larger aircraft to those locations have not yet been possible, and thus the start of a number of adventure traverse and other ANI-supported ventures have also been delayed (see ANAN-34/06 following).

Original plans called for ANI's two Twin Otters to fly south from Punta Arenas, Chile, around 28-29 October, the first inter-continental flights from Cape Town, South Africa, and Punta using L381G 'Hercules' aircraft being scheduled for 1 and 3 November respectively (ANAN-33/02, 25 October 2000). An Iluyshin-76 (IL-76) heav y-lift jet aircraft was also to be involved in ANI operations this season (ANAN-33/03, 25 October 2000). While the Twin Otters were in position yesterday, the other aircraft remained on the ground in Punta Arenas in a delay similar to that experienced by ANI last season (ANAN-7/01, 27 October 1999), but which is a fairly 'routine' factor for any air operation in Antarctica.

Due to weather constraints the Twin Otters were not able to leave Punta Arenas for the Patriot Hills until 31 October, however they were then held up again by weather for several days at the U.K. national program station Rothera in the south-west of the Antarctic Peninsula. It is not clear when either aircraft was able to leave Rothera for the Patriot Hills and 'Blue 1', although they appear to have only reached those locations in the last 3-4 days. ANI staff on board the flights included key medical, guide, radio and general logistics personnel who were to re-establish the company's field camp at the Patriot Hills prior to flights by the larger aircraft commencing.

As late as yesterday evening both the IL-76 and 'Hercules' were still in Punta Arenas awaiting for the opportunity to fly to the Patriot Hills. The IL-76 is loaded with drummed fuel and other supplies and will fly first, for in addition to the fuel it is to carry the remaining compliment of ANI's Patriot Hills staff. The 'Hercules' will conduct the second flight and is to carry the first batch of the company's clients for the season, including adventurers who are planning to undertake traverses from the Ellsworth Land region to the South Geographic Pole (SGP), their sledges and other equipment (see ANAN-34/06 following).

While ANAN reported previously that a second 'Hercules' aircraft would conduct the inter-continental flight from Cape Town to 'Blue 1' listed for 1 November, it now appears that the IL-76 will be used for that flight after it has returned to Punta Arenas from the Patriot Hills. It will then have to relocate across the Atlantic from Chile to South Africa before the operation into 'Blue 1' can be attempted. The first DML flight therefore currently appears unlikely to be undertaken before the coming weekend at the earliest.

The Douglas DC-3 derived Basler-67 medium-lift aircraft that was chartered to support ANI operations last austral summer (ANAN-1/06, 4 August 1999), is also at Punta Arenas waiting to fly to the U.S. national program station McMurdo on Ross Island, via the Patriot Hills and the SGP, where it is to operate for several months in support of U.S. operations under a Polar Logistics (PL) contract (ANAN-28/03, 16 August 2000). The aircaft's performance characteristics suggest that it would only be able to deliver significant cargo to the Patriot Hills en route to the other side of the continent if it were to refuel at Rothera. It is not known whether the aircraft will be used in this way to assist ANI's early season build-up. If not it could fly the Punta-Patriot route direct, but only if it is operated in basic ferry mode with little or no payload.

ANI says that it is now probably looking at conducting only three IL-76 fuel flights to the Patriot Hills from Punta Arenas this season and that it does not envisage using the aircraft type on a regular basis as suggested previously by this newsletter (ANAN-33/02 and 33/03, 25 October 2000). ANAN previously reported that up to five IL-76 flights was possible in 1999-2000. The air operator also says that only twelve of the inter-continental flights it plans this summer will involve passengers, which suggests that the company may carry a larger number of people to Antarctica this season than ever before. Four Polar Logistics flights are scheduled fromCape Town to DML this summer, not three as previously reported by ANAN.

[ANAN-34/05]

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At least eight separate groups made up of some twenty-three individuals are thought to be waiting in Punta Arenas, Chile, and Cape Town, South Africa, for inter-continental flights to Antarctica, to commence their planned journeys to the South Geographic Pole (SGP) and beyond. For all of them the waiting is frustrating and costly in dollar terms, however for the two women waiting to cross the continent from Dronning Maud Land (DML) to Ross Island each day's delay reduces their margin for error at the end of their journey next February.

Trans-Antarctic pair Anne Bancroft and Liv Arnesen are in still Cape Town waiting for the IL-76 flight which will take them south to 'Blue 1' in DML to start their journey, the original nominal flight date being 1 November (ANAN-33/09, 25 October 2000). An early start for them is more critical than the groups who plan to start at the Patriot Hills in Ellsworth Land. Bancroft and Arnesen estimate that they will need around 100 days to complete their crossing, and each day's delay sees their arrival at Ross Island potentially moving later into February and closer to the start of autumn in the region. This could in turn impact on arrangements for retrieval of the pair at the end of their journey.

Non-government traverse personnel known to be waiting at Punta Arenas include the two members of the 'Danish South Pole Expedition 2000' (ANAN-33/10, 25 October 2000), the Sasquatch pair from Holland (ANAN-32/03, 11 October 2000), and the Challenging Horizons party which includes blind skier Miles Hilton-Barber from the U.K. (ANAN-30/02, 13 September 2000). They are all to fly into Antarctica on the first Hercules flight from Punta Arenas (see ANAN-34/05 preceeding). The Danes plan to start their trek from Hercules Inlet, while the other two teams have indicated that they propose starting from the Patriot Hills. While the Danish and U.K. groups aim is to reach the SGP only and to return by air, the Dutch pair hope to travel overland to there and return in similar fashion to the Patriot Hills.

Recent reports also indicate that a Slovak skier, Stane Klemenc, will also fly to the Patriot Hills on the first 'Hercules' flight. No details are available to ANAN about his plans except that he is to use parasails for a solo journey to the SGP. One suggestion is that he is to undertake the trek from 'Blue 1' in Dronning Maud Land (DML), although why he is to fly to the Patriot Hills first, and not from Cape Town, is not clear. There are also indications that an unnamed "Swedish couple" are also planning to undertaken an SGP-bound traverse, but again no details are available.

It appears likely that other ANI clients currently waiting in Punta Arenas may include people heading to climb Vinson Massif, Antarctica's highest mountain (ANAN-19/06, 12 April 2000), and other tourists, possibly including any who have paid to visit Emporer penguin colonies located around the coast of Cates Land . In addition to Bancroft and Arnesen, the group mountaineers who are planning to climb Holtanna peak in DML are also waiting in Cape Town for the flight south (see ANAN-34/12 following).

[ANAN-34/06]

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Data collated on ship-based tour operations planned for 2000-01, shows that the north-western part of the Antarctic Peninsula and the nearby South Shetland Islands (NWP-SSI) will yet again be the prime focus of tourist activities this austral summer (ANAN-23/02, 7 June 2000). Information available suggests that during the four-month season, which commenced last weekend with the departure of the first ship from Ushuaia (see ANAN-34/08 following), there will be a 6-8% fall in the number of landings made by tourists in that area from that of last season.

A total of seventeen ships capable of carrying between 12 and 450-550 passengers, and at least ten sail-based vessels with a capacity between 6 and 52 passengers, are expected to take part in sea-based tourist operations over the next four months. Close to 96% of these activities will take place in the South Atlantic sector, and 3% in the South Pacific sector; a split similar to that recorded most years over the last decade. Most voyages will operate from Ushuaia, Argentina (see ANAN-34/09 following). If the normal high load-levels are achieved by operators the total number of sea-based visitors to the continent will be in the order of 13-14,000. This is down slightly on last season due to the absence of three large vessels that were present in the record 1999-2000 season (ANAN-26/01, 19 July 2000).

Fourteen ships and ten sailing craft are expected in the South Atlantic Ocean sector, four ships in the South Pacific sector and the Ross Sea, while in the Indian Ocean sector only the French national program vessel 'Marion Dufrense' appears likely to carry a small numeber of tourists, but only to some sub-Antarctic islands (ANAN-7/05, 27 October 1999). One vessel, German company Halpag Lloyd's 'Bremen', is to visit both the South Pacific and South Atlantic sectors.

A full two-thirds of the 145-150 voyages plannd are straight Ushuaia-Peninsula-Ushuaia operations in the South Atlantic. When conducted by ship these voyages normally last 8-11 days, 4-7 days of which are spent in the NWP-SSI region; while yacht voyages to there usually last a month with several weeks actually being spent in the area, although fly-sail operations mean that some yachts can actually spend longer periods in the region (see ANAN-34/11 following). One ship operator told ANAN that these short voyages were the industry's "bread and butter" as they allow high numbers of passengers to be carried over the short four month summer season. A quarter of all voyages in the South Atlantic sector contain visits to islands of the Scotia Arc in addition to the NWP-SSI area, about the same as last year (ANAN-7/02, 27 October 1999)

Information currently available indicates that at least ten sailing vessels are to operate commercially in the vicinity of the Antartic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands this season, a few of them also visiting South Georgia. It is notoriously difficult to obtain a complete picture of yacht-based operations however. These craft carry between six and twelve passengers and normally conduct 2-3 voyages each, although one of them, the three-masted barque 'Europa' which is to undertake four voyages, can carry up to fifty-two clients (ANAN-30/01, 13 September 2000). Sailing craft known to be operating this season could undertake at least twenty-five voyages between them, and carry 250-300 people.

While sea-based visitor numbers will fall slightly this season, the following 2001-02 austral summer appears likely to see an increase due to the presence of several large ships (ANAN-33/04, 25 October 2000), and the possibility exisits that several new companies may operate smaller ships (see ANAN-34/03 preceeding and ANAN-32/01, 11 October 2000).

[ANAN-34/07]

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An attempt by three U.K. based adventurers to retrace Sir Ernest Shackleton's historic 1916 crossing of South Georgia late this month which ANAN reported on in October (ANAN-32/02, 11 October 2000), is actually part of a commercially organised venture that might, if conditions allow, see 30-40 people attempt the crossing over the next 3-4 weeks. This month's ventures follow several successful crossings of the famous route earlier this year, preceed another planned for next March (ANAN-29/02, 30 August 2000), and are the first organised commercially by a tour operator.

Adventure Network International (ANI), which is normally associated with Antarctic air operations (see ANAN-34/05 preceeding), has chartered Amsterdam-based Oceanwide's 36 passenger vessel 'Grigory Mikheev' for two voyages to South Georgia this month.

ANI's first voyage left Ushuaia, Argentina, for the island last weekend and is due to arrive there today, while the second is to leave Ushuaia on 22 November. Each voyage is scheduled to last nineteen days, eleven days being scheduled in the vicinity of the island. Not all passengers on board are expected to take part in crossing attempts, and those that do not will be provided with 'standard' tourist landings along the northern side of the island during the crossing attempt, although the vessel will be in radio contact with the crossing parties. South Georgia is the sole place to visited on either voyage.

ANI have put together a group of very experienced mountaineers to support those who are attempting the crossings. Crossing leader is David Hahn, one of the world's most experienced mountaineers. His achievements include four attempts on Mount Everest, during which he twice reached the summit, and a record nineteen ascents of Vinson Massif, Antarctica's highest mountain, during five seasons as base camp manager and expedition guide at ANI's Patriot Hills field camp in Ellsworth Land. He has also climbed extensively in the Himalayas, North America and elsewhere in the world. Bill Davis, a very accomplished, experienced, leader of Antarctic tour voyages, is the overall Expedition Leader.

Plans for the venture include a range of contingencies which will allow the crossing parties to abort their journey at several points along the way should conditions dictate. Reports from South Georgia indicate that there has been heavy snow on the island in recent weeks which is a mixed blessing. High winds are likely to make conditions particularly unpleasant, and deep snow areas will slow progress, although on the other hand it might make travel easier in crevassed areas, unless of course a significant thaw occurs before early December.

The Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands located at Stanley in the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) has examined and approved the planned crossings.

[ANAN-34/08]

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Growth of around 10% is expected this austral summer in the number of Antarctic-related passengers who will pass through the southernArgentinian port of Ushuaia in conjunction with operations of the core group of small to medium sized tour vessels.

This growth rate, which is a continuation of the long-term trend in this sector of the market, comes despite an overall decrease of 12-15% in Antarctic visitors to the port caused by the absence of the three large cruise vessels that visited last season (ANAN-25/02, 5 July 2000), and is in line with recent projections by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators for the next five years.

Despite the overall decrease in numbers expected in 2000-01, Ushuaia is in no danger of relinquishing its position as Antarctica's prime tourist gateway. It is currently estimated that around 11,100 ship-based Antarctic tourists will pass through Ushuaia over the next four and a half months; 10,000 more than will be achieved at any other gateway in the southern hemisphere. According to the Tourism Board of Terra Del Fuego 9,139 Antarctic tourists passed through Ushuaia in 1998-99 (ANAN-5/02, 29 September 1999), with the figure rising to 12,967 in the record 1999-2000 season (ANAN-25/02, 5 July 2000). Some 2,700 of last season's passengers visited on the three 400 plus passenger vessels.

The estimate for Ushuaia compares with that of: 950 Antarctic bound or returning tourists passing through Buenos Aires, Argentina; 800-900 for Stanley in the Falkland Islands; 550-600 for Punta Arenas, Chile; 250-300 for Bluff, New Zealand; and just over 200 for Hobart, Australia. Other locations such as: Puerto Madryn, Argentina; Cape Town, South Africa; Valparasio, Chile; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Dunedin, New Zealand; will also see either departures or arrivals by Antarctic ships, but at a very low level. Stanley is also expected to receive single day visits from a further 2,500 tourists from ships travelling to and from Antarctica.

Early indications are that around 140 Antarctic ship and yacht tourist and adventure voyages will either depart from or arrive at Ushuaia this season. In comparison eight voyages are to start from Stanley and nine finish there (ANAN-2/01, 18 August 1999), together with a further twenty-one that will pass through the port on day visits on the way to or from the Antarctic or Scotia arc region. Of the other gateways Bluff should have five arrivals and departures; Punta Arenas and Hobart four and four; and Buenos Aires four and one. Other gateways will only see one or two Antarctic tourist ship movements during the season.

Ushuaia's prime position has been strengthened in the last five years as a result of significant improvements to wharf areas and associated facilities, and the development of a new airport which is capable of accepting the largest wide-bodied jets now in service.

[ANAN-34/09]

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The 18 m French Ketch 'Le Sourire', a yacht believed new to Antarctic waters, is scheduled to conduct six fly-sail cruises in the Antarctic Peninsula region early in 2001, two of them in conjunction with similar operations from Seymour Island in late February (see ANAN-34/11 following), and the others from Chile's Presidente Eduardo Frei station on King George Island (KGI) in the South Shetlands. The voyages from Frei will involve connecting flights by Twin Otter aircraft from Punta Arenas conducted by the small Chilean regional air line La linea aerea de la Patagonia (ANAN-17/03, 15 March 2000).

Advertisements for the fly-sail voyages from KGI indicate that 'Le Sourire' will spend around eight days in the vicinity of the frequentlyvisited South Shetland Islands and north-west Antarctic Peninsula region during each sailing operation. Locations listed for potential visits include places such as the Melchoir Islands, the Neumayer Channel, Port Lockroy, Dorian Bay, the Lemaire Channel, Pleneau and Petermann Islands, Paradise Bay, Deception Island and Half Moon Bay (ANAN-26/01, 19 July 2000).

Passengers on the yacht's first voyage are to join it in Ushuaia, Argentina, on 10 January, and are to sail across the Drake Passage before spending eight days sailing in the visit region. The eleven passengers on board are scheduled to disembark at Frei on 26 January for the flight to Punta Arenas. That flight will also bring passengers for the yacht's second voyage to KGI, further flights being scheduled for 6 and 16 February, and 4 March for similar passenger changeovers. The tourists who arrive at Frei on the last flight will sail back to South America following 8-10 days in the Peninsula region, arrival back in Ushuaia being expected around 20 March.

'Le Sourire', which is reported to have two 70 KW engines, can carry up to eleven passengers and is crewed by owner Hughes Delignieres and his wife Marie-Paule, both of whom are believed to have had a decade of experience sailing in Antarctic waters on their yacht 'If'. Passengers have a choice of one single-berth, one twin-berth, one double-berth, and two triple-berth cabins, and there are two bathrooms on board. The voyages which involve passage to and from Antarctica at the start and end of the season cost $US14,890 per person, while the short fly-both-ways options are put at $US9,945 per person.

The 1,300 m long Tenente Marsh airfield which will be used to support yacht operatons from KGI lies just over a kilometre from Frei station. The runway is made from crushed rock and is capable of accepting aircraft up to the size of a Lockheed 'Hercules'. Twin Otter flight time from Punta Arenas to Tenente Marsh is between four and five hours, versus a journey to there from Ushuaia by yacht that can take 5-6 days or more depending on conditions.

Between the third and fourth voyages from Frei, 'Le Sourire' will be supporting similar sail-fly operations from Marambio on Seymour Island off the north-east Antarctic Peninsula (see ANAN-34/11 following), but will return to KGI in time for the 4 March voyage. Due to their short, four-day nature, the two voyages from Marambio are expected to be limited to the general area of Erebus and Terror Gulf within 100 km of Seymour Island.

It is understood that all voyages from King George Island except the last are already fully booked. Given the current healthy state of bookings 'Le Sourire' is therefore likely to carry close to 66 passengers in Antarctic waters this season from both Frei and Marambio.

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Up to six yachts may now be engaged by Argentine tour company All Patagonia for fly-sail operations from Marambio station on Seymour Island off the north-east tip of the Antarctic Peninsula next February rather than the four reported by ANAN six weeks ago (ANAN-31/01, 27 September 2000). The yacht operations, which are planned in two separate four day segments and could involve just over 100 passengers, will be supported by three return flights from Ushuaia by a C-130H 'Hercules' aircraft chartered by All Patagonia from the Argentine Air Force.

It is understood that the participation of the yachts 'Fernande', 'Sarah W. Vorwerk' (ANAN-31/02, 27 September 2000), 'Golden Fleece' (see ANAN-21/03, 10 May 2000) and 'Le Sourire' (see ANAN-34/11 preceeding) in the operation has been confirmed, while discussions are apparently still underway with the operators of 'Kotick I' and another unnamed craft regarding their involvement. The four confirmed yachts can carry up to 39 passengers between them, and the others another 16, therefore if all six operate from Marambio as many as 55 passengers could participate in the two, four-day, voyages each craft is to undertake from Seymour Island.

The three inter-continental feeder flights for yacht operations are scheduled for a nine-day period in late February to connect with the planned 20-24 February, and 24-28 February voyages from Seymour Island. The first from Ushuaia on the 20th will deliver the first group of tourists to Marambio to join the yachts, the second on the 24th is to carry the second yacht group to Marambio and return the first to Ushuaia, while the third and last on the 28th will return group two to the southern Argentinian city. Each flight will probably only carry around 50-55 yacht-related passengers due to the combined capacity of the yachts involved, which is some 15-20 less than the potential capacity of the flights (see ANAN-34/03 preceeding). All flights are subject to suitable weather and delays to operations could occur should unsuitable conditions prevail on the scheduled flight days.

As Marambio is located some 200 m above sea level, helicopters stationed there will be used to transfer passengers and their baggage from the airstrip to the shore close to where the yachts are anchored. Similar transfer arrangements will apply at the end of each voyage so that passengers can join their flights back to Ushuaia. All Patagonia says that accommodation at Marambio will only be utilised if arrival of an aircraft from Ushuaia is affected by bad weather or other operational delays.

While it is difficult to confirm, it appears that this may be third season in which fly-sail operations have been conducted from Marambio. All-Patagonia is also connected with a separate, four voyage, fly-sail operation which is to commence from Chile's Presidente Aduardo Frei research station on King George Island in January (see ANAN-34/10 preceeding).

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The multinational group of mountaineers who are attempting the climb of Holtanna Peak in the Orvin Mountains of Dronning Maud Land (DML), are in Cape Town, South Africa, awaiting the Adventure Network International (ANI) flight to 'Blue 1' which was originally scheduled for 1 November (see ANAN-34/06 preceeding). The group, which has recently started to use the name Queen Maud Land International Expedition (QMLIE), expects to climb the peak and conduct parasail-assisted traverses in the DML region up until early January, however just how they plan to leave Antarctica at the end of their venture remains unclear (ANAN-28/07, 16 August 2000).

The expedition's web site has indicated for some time that its members would travel to the South African national program station SANAE on the DML coast after their climb is completed "from where they will embark [presumably on a ship] for South Africa". It appears however that a request for assistance from the South African national program made recently by the expedition was never approved and a QMLIE organiser told ANAN late last week that expedition members were still discussing the issue.

The only non-government means by which the expedition could return from DML appears to be by air either with ANI via the Patriot Hills in Ellsworth Land and Punta Arenas, Chile, or alternatively using any spareseats that might be available on any of the four Polar Logistics (PL) flights scheduled into and out of 'Blue 1' in support of national program operations later in the season (ANAN-28/03, 16 August 2000). ANI and PL are separate operating entities, however they are run on a day to day basis by the same senior staff members, although whether PL contracts allow the carriage of non-government personnel is unknown.

Failure of the QMLIE to confirm return arrangements from Antarctica until late in preparations is similar to the situation which prevailed for the Norwegian Antarctic Expedition (NAE) until recently. Two members of the NAE are currently skiing to the South Geographic Pole (see ANAN-34/04 preceeding), and arrangements for search and rescue cover during the journey and repatriation from the Pole were only sorted out after the group began its winter at Troll station (ANAN-27/02, 2 August 2000).

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An attempt by an Australian group to climb to the 2,745 m summit of sub-Antarctic Heard Island in the South Indian Ocean which was originally scheduled for December, and was then postponed until February, has now been abandoned for 2000-01 due to lack of funds (ANAN-32/05, 11 October 2000).

Organiser Norman Bradshaw told ANAN last week that despite their disappointment he and his colleagues are still keen to mount an expedition to the island and hope to undertake the venture in December-January 2001-02. Bradshaw says that he is confident that satisfactory transport will be available and that funding for next year's attempt is "already looking positive".

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Two major round-the-world yacht races which involve crossings of the sub-Antarctic parts of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Ocean, are now underway with the departure of twelve identical yachts from France in the Vendee Globe 2000 single handed race on 5 November. As those yachts commenced their 42,000 km non-stop journey, the thirty-two yacht fleet in the other race, the 'wrong-way-around' eight-leg BT Challenge, and heading down the Atlantic to Buenos Aires, Argentina, (B.A.) on the second leg of their eight-leg, 45,000 km journey.

The BT Challege fleet will be operating between Cape Horn and Wellington, New Zealand, in late December and January, and between southern Tasmania and Cape Town in March-April. Vendee Globe yachts are expected to be operating in the region between Bouvet Island and Cape Horn in December and January (ANAN-30/04, 13 September 2000).

Another venture called simply 'The Race' is to have yachts in the sub-Antarctic region in late January and February. Details will be provided in the next edition of ANAN.

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The first of a series of documentaries on Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914-16 'Endurance' expedition which were co-produced by U.S. broadcaster WGHB and White Mountain Films (WMF) in the South Georgia and Weddell Sea regions last austral spring and autumn, is to go to air on the Channel 4 television network in the U.K. on 9 November.

Titled "The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition", the two hour feature was filmed during two separate, dedicated voyages organised by WGHB/NOVA using the vessels 'Akademic Shuleykin' and 'Laurel' in October-November 1999, and again in April this year with the 'Shuleykin' only (ANAN-20/02, 26 April 2000)

A separate two hour version of the film is currently in production for release on the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) in the U.S., however it is not scheduled to go to air under NOVA series until sometime in October-November 2001. It is not known just what differences there may be between the U.K. and U.S. versions of the film.

Meanwhile the forty-minute, giant-screen IMAX® version of the Shackleton story which was also filmed during the 'Shuleykin' voyages is set for screening in three U.S. theatres next February. According to the film's distributors the Museum of Natural Science in Houston is to commence screening it on the 10th, The Science Place in nearby Dallas on the 11th, and the Museum of Science in Boston on the 16th. Negotiations are currently underway between the film's producers and other outlets regarding its release elsewhere, and contracts with other theatres in the U.S. and around the world should be signed in the near future.

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The off-again, on again, saga of the Iridium satellite telephone system is continuing with another company indicating that it may keep the bankrupt company's constellation of satellites in operation. Iridium Satellite LLC has proposed to purchase Iridium's assets for $US25M, which is only a small fraction of their original cost, and a court hearing on the matter is scheduled for later today in the U.S.

During the last Antarctic summer, the light-weight, relatively easy to use, Iridium phone system, provided an effective way for field groups to keep in touch with their base camps and headquarters around the world (ANAN-18/01, 29 March 2000). It provided quick, generally reliable, access, important to the smooth running of program support, especially in the event of emergencies or when a large number of groups are in the field. It was also a key to ensuring the reliable flow of information that could be used on the web sites that most expeditions now need to maintain as a standard part of the commercial side of their ventures. Many tour operators also purchased Iridium handsets, as have many national program operators in Antarctica.

According to the 6 November edition of the internet newsletter 'SpaceViews', Motorola, the company that currently maintains the 70 satellite constellation, is supporting the bid and has offered a $US30M loan to continue opertion of the satellites until control is handed over to Iridium Satellite LLC. If the court approves the new arrangement it is proposed that an arm of the Boeing company would operate the satellites for the new bidder.

There were clear indications earlier this year that the Iridium system would be shut down (ANAN-29/04, 30 August 2000), although there have been rumours from the U.S. for some time that another bid to resurrect it could be made. Despite the latest move it appears unlikely at this time that Iridium services will be available in Antarctica during the coming austral summer. Most small expedition groups appear likely to utilise the more limited ORBCOMM satellite communications system (ANAN-32/06, 11 October 2000).

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YEAR 2000

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).

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