ANTARCTIC NON-GOVERNMENT ACTIVITY NEWS
Tourism Industry |
Brief news items on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic
non-government expedition activities.
ANAN 87
Wednesday, 4 December 2002
News in this edition:
87-01. Film group preparing for Antarctic Peninsula operation.
87-02. Tour ship aground in Whalers Bay for ten hours.
87-03. Another environmental group to confront whaling fleet.
87-04. Latest Shackleton crossing takes trek numbers past 40.
87-05. Difficult climbs, ridge crossing, delay Sentinel Range group.
87-06. SGP traverses make good time as 'Ice Kites' completes pre-trip testing.
87-07. Power surge damages tour ship's radar, delays voyage.
87-08. 'Overnight' kayaking trips on offer but Wiencke climbing deferred.
87-09. Busy adventurer plans yet another activity.
87-10. Half the 'eclipse side' seats on November 2003 overflight booked.
87-11. Newest edition of the Antarctic Treaty Handbook 'on line'.
87-12. Coming Events Relevant to Non-Government Activities.
FILM COMPANY PREPARING FOR ANTARCTIC PENINSULA OPERATION
[ANAN-87/01]
An Australian motion picture production company plans to use the New Zealand-registered ship 'Braveheart' in the Antarctic Peninsula region during the current austral summer to obtain footage for a feature film. While broad aspects of the Braveheart's program are known, the company has not revealed the precise nature of its filming venture.
Independent sources in Australasia, the U.S., and elsewhere indicate that the filming program is being organised by Sydney-based Kennedy Miller Productions (KMP), a thirty-year-old production house with links to Hollywood that has produced internationally-acclaimed films for the cinema and television that include ‘Babe’, ‘Mad Max’, ‘Flirting’, ‘Bangkok Hilton’, ‘The Year My Voice Broke’, ‘Dead Calm’, ‘The Machine’, and ‘Vietnam’. ‘Babe’, which was a very successful film about a talking pig, was co-written by one of the company’s principals, Dr George Miller, and earned an Oscar nomination in 1996.
An environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the activities planned from 'Braveheart' has been submitted to New Zealand authorities for evaluation, however no final decision on it has been made at this time. While NZ officials provided basic details of Braveheart's planned movements, they suggested that ANAN direct questions about the nature of the project to KMP and Braveheart's operators for comment. Neither KMP or Nigel Jolly the owner of 'Braveheart' replied to any of ANAN's requests for information over the last two weeks.
It is believed that 36-m ‘Braveheart’ is to leave Ushuaia, Argentina, around the middle of this month and is to then work in the region between Hope Bay near the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and Marguerite Bay in the south-west between 18 December and 2 February. During that time a documentary film-crew is to "acquire footage of Antarctic scenery and wildlife" according to officials in New Zealand.
Braveheart’, which has little or no ice strengthening, has been used for expedition support activities in southern waters on three previous occasions: a ‘ham’ radio expedition to South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands earlier this year (ANAN-67/03, 27 February 2002); a filming and diving group in the Ross Sea in January-February 2001 (ANAN-63/09, 2 January 2002); and another ham radio group on Campbell Island in January 1999 (ANAN-59/01, 14 November 2001).
The ship left New Zealand for South America on 18 November and is expected in Ushuaia by the middle of this month. It is not known if a helicopter is being carried on the ship at this time, although it is possible that one might be used to support filming operations in the Peninsula area.
Production of a second Antarctic-based film is also apparently under way. Well-known U.S. actor Richard Gere was reported to have been flown to the Patriot Hills in Ellsworth Land by U.S. based tour company Adventure Network International (ANI) late last month.
US media reports suggest that he is involved in the filming of a feature called ‘Emperor Zehnder’, which is about Swiss-born photographer Bruno Zehender who died in a blizzard near Russia’s Mirny station in Queen Mary Land in 1997. There is, however, apparently no link between Gere's film and the program planned from 'Braveheart'.
The tour ship 'Clipper Adventurer' was aground in Whalers Bay, Deception Island, for 10 hours on 22 November and was refloated with the aid of a Chilean Naval vessel. Reports of the incident indicate that there was little damage to the ship, that no spillage of fuel or other environmental damage occurred, and that the vessel was able to conduct the remainder of its voyage without further problems.
At the time of the grounding, 'Clipper Adventurer', which is operated by US-based Clipper Cruise Line and New World Shipping Management, was undertaking its first voyage of the 2002-03 austral summer. The vessel had left Stanley in the Falkland Islands on 17 November and arrived in Whalers Bay five days later, anchoring some 400 m off the old whaling station at the head of the Bay. Within an hour of its arrival, however, it had been driven towards the shore and went aground in 7-8 m of water close to the beach.
The Chilean Navy said in a statement that "high winds and faulty anchoring were the most probable cause of the accident". The Navy says that the wind at the time was a 35-45 knot easterly and that visibility was alternating between 100 and 400 m in snow showers. A spokesman for the tour ship's operators said that strong winds caused the anchor to drag but denied that there was anything faulty about the operation.
The Chilean naval icebreaker 'Almirante Viel' arrived in Whalers Bay at around the same time as 'Clipper Adventurer'. According to the Navy, Clipper's Master requested "immediate assistance" from 'Viel' soon after the grounding in case weather conditions deteriorated. The Navy says that "towing and salvage gear was installed [on the tour ship] after three hours of hard labour" but that the first attempt at refloating was unsuccessful primarily because of the gale-force winds.
After that, and despite the conditions, it was decided to keep the tow lines in place between the two ships until high tide which was due some six hours later. 'Viel' took just over half-an-hour on the high tide to pull 'Clipper Adventurer' into deeper water, the tour ship listing some16 degrees during that time.
'Clipper Adventurer' left Whalers Bay for the Neumayer Channel shortly after it was refloated according to the Navy report, and eventually arrived in Ushuaia, Argentina, on 28 November as scheduled with 87 passengers and 72 crew on board. It is currently operating again in the South Shetland Islands and north-west Antarctic Peninsula region on its second voyage of the season. 'Almirante Viel' remained in Whalers Bay in order to "verify that no ecological damage had occurred".
In January 2000, the Bahamas-registered 'Clipper Adventurer' requested assistance from the Argentine national program icebreaker 'Almirante Irizar' after it became surrounded by heavy sea ice in Matha Strait in the south-west of the Antarctic Peninsula (ANAN-14/03, 2 February 2000). It is understood that Argentina subsequently charged Clipper's operators the equivalent of $US65,000 for the assistance provided by Irizar as the icebreaker had to divert some 600 km from its intended route to go to the tour ship's aid.
Earlier that same season, 'Clipper Adventurer' sustained damage to its propeller while operating in Peninsula waters and the voyage prior to the one to Matha Strait had to be cancelled so that the vessel could go into dry-dock in Puerto Belgrano in north-west Argentina for repairs.
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS), an international environmental group, plans to challenge the operations of a Japanese whaling fleet in the Ross Sea region over the next six weeks with its ship 'Farley Mowat'. The activities of the protest ship are to be planned and directed by Paul Watson, a conservationist well-known for 'hard line' confrontations elsewhere in the world. The ship, which is currently in Auckland, New Zealand, was searched by law enforcement officials there last week.
Sea Shepherd said in a statement late last month that 'Farley Mowat' will be attempting to "stop Japanese whaling in Antarctica", something it says Greenpeace, another international environment group, "has failed to do". Watson, Farley Mowat's Master and SSCS's head, was a founder of Greenpeace, but left to start Sea Shepherd in the late 1970s. Greenpeace has tracked and harassed the whaling fleet with its vessel 'Arctic Sunrise' on several occasions over the past few years as part of its anti-whaling campaign (ANAN-64/05, 16 January 2002).
Watson was reported by the 'on line' news site 'The Antarctican' (http://www.antarctican.com/) last week as having said that "45 courageous volunteers" on the ship will locate and follow the whaling fleet in Antarctic waters in order to take part in "law enforcement" against what he called "illegal exploitation of marine resources". Watson did not detail just what type of protest activities are planned or how they plan to located the fleet in such a large expanse of ocean.
'The Antarctican' article describes Watson as "the hard man of conservation activists" and states that he has a controversial record that "includes being jailed for sinking a Norwegian whaler". The news service goes on to say that Sea Shepherd describes itself as "non-violent", and that it has "never been the cause of injury or death". The environmental group was also quoted as saying that it: "does not regard the confiscation and destruction of ships, guns, harpoons and hardware utilised in the illegal exploitation of species and habitats as being violent".
SSCS's claims, and what was said to be "information received", led to New Zealand police and customs officers visiting the 'Farley Mowat' on five occasions last week. Sniffer dogs were used to search the ship's interior and divers carried out inspections underwater looking for "evidence of torpedo tubes in the hull" according to an Auckland newspaper report. However, nothing untoward was found on the ship.
The whaling fleet probably reached Antarctic waters sometime in the last week after a month-long voyage from Japan. No details of its position have been, or are likely to be, released (ANAN-86/16, 20 November 2002). 'Farley Mowat' is expected to leave Auckland on 5 or 6 December and should be in the Ross Sea towards the end of this month. The whaling fleet normally stays in Antarctic waters until early March but the environmentalist's ship may only be there until late January.
According to the permit issued by the Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, the fleet, which is based in the port of Shimonoseki, can catch up to 440 Minke whales in waters south of latitude 55°S and between longitudes 130° East and 140° West, except where national 200-nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zones are involved.
The whaling fleet consists of a factory ship of 7,575 gross tonnes, and catcher or 'sampling' vessels with gross tonnages of around 800 tonnes. The factory vessel, around which the catchers operate, has a maximum speed of 18 knots and is believed to be the slowest ship in the fleet.
Canadian-registered 'Farley Mowat' is 48m long and reportedly has a top speed of around 14-15 knots. Greenpeace's 'Arctic Sunrise', which has a top speed of just under 12 knots, lost the fleet on one occasion late last year when, in a tactic apparently designed to 'shake off' the protestors, the fleet suddenly moved away at "high speed" (ANAN-65/05, 2 January 2002).
'Farley Mowat' was originally a Norwegian fisheries inspection vessel. As the 'Ocean Warrior', it has conducted a number of protest campaigns in various parts of the world. It was renamed by Watson last March to honour a renowned Canadian author and environmentalist who chairs SSCS's Board.
Further information on the SSCS can be obtained on line at: http://www.seashepherd.org/.
The latest trek along Sir Ernest Shackleton's famous 1916 route across South Georgia which was made by three Norwegians late last month has brought to 40 the number of people who have followed in the famous explorer's footsteps in the last three years. Liv Arnesen, Einar Glestad and Ulf Prytz arrived at Stromness on 29 November after what appears to have been a week-long crossing.
The trio reached King Haakon Bay on 21 November after a four-day sail from Stanley, Falkland Islands, on the 19.5-m steel schooner 'Golden Fleece'. Gale-force winds prevented the trekkers going ashore to start the crossing until the next afternoon and they spent their first night on the island at Shackleton Gap.
Reports on Arnesen's web site (http://www.yourexpedition.com) indicate that much of the crossing was made in poor visibility and whiteout, which may in part explain why the group appears to have taken a week to complete the journey. Most parties in recent years have been able to make the trip in three days. The web-site does not identify precisely where each night's camps were made and difficulties with satellite telephone communications at times limited the information that the group could make available. The 'Golden Fleece' is expected to arrive back at Stanley by the coming weekend.
Since February 2000 there have been at least five successful Shackleton route crossings. Two other parties had to start from Possession Bay due to persistent poor weather, and 3 or 4 others were planned but were cancelled due to weather and other factors. To date, the largest group to make the crossing from King Haakon Bay has been the 19-person group from the tour ship 'Grigory Mikheev' in November 2000, an event that was organised by the now US-based tour company Adventure Network International (ANAN-36/05, 6 December 2000).
A previous crossing of Shackleton's route has been featured in a ten-page story in the current October-December edition of 'Australian Geographic', a publication that is similar to the US-published, 'National Geographic'. The article describes the three-day crossing that was made by eight people from the tour ship 'Professor Molchanov' in March last year (ANAN-46/05, 9 May 2001). That venture was organised by the Australian company Aurora Expeditions which has similar trips planned in late February 2003 and at the same time in 2004.
Difficult terrain around Mount Anderson in the Sentinel Range, and delays in finding a suitable route across the ridge between the Embree and Ellen Glaciers early last week, have delayed the four-man 'Expedition Antarctica' trekking and climbing group. At last report on 2 December, the party had travelled close to 70 km in the three weeks since their start from the Newcomer Glacier on 11 November (ANAN-86/10, 20 November 2002), but as yet none of the mountains they had targeted have been climbed.
Prior to the expedition's departure from Chile, the quartet's first major aim was to climb 4,255-m Mount Anderson in the northern part of the Sentinel Range (ANAN-85/07, 6 November 2002). It appears from reports though that they were unable to ascend that mountain, the terrain on the approach to it being described as "very difficult".
After that attempt the party headed south up the Embree Glacier and by 21 November, 10 days after setting out, they were on the northern flank of 2, 340-m Mount Schmid and were considering climbing it. Schmid was also bypassed, although for what reason is not known, and the quartet continued up the Embree Glacier. However, they could not immediately find a route across the intervening ridge to the Ellen Glacier on the other side.
It took two days of "difficult work" in temperatures as low as -30 degrees centigrade to find a way across the ridge, or 'Crocodile Pass' as the men described it. Once they were on the other side, the upper reaches of the Ellen Glacier had a slope close to 50 degrees, an angle that made transport of each man's 110-kg sledge very difficult. Further down the glacier though the terrain smoothed out a little and 5-6 km were travelled each day in the four days leading up to 29 November.
On that day, the four reported that they were at the base of 4,090-m Mount Giovinetto and had around 1,200-m to climb to its summit. After 18 hours of "intense work", however, they were forced to give up the attempt due to what was described as "severe conditions in the shade of the mountain". Giovinetto was one of three peaks in excess of 4,000 m that 'Expedition Antarctica' planned to climb, the others being Mount Anderson and Vinson Massif.
After Mount Giovinetto the next aim of the climbers is expected to be 4,901-m Vinson Massif. Prior to the expedition commencing they had planned to approach that mountain via the Ellen and Crosswell Glaciers, a base camp for the ascent being established in the upper parts of the Crosswell's ice-stream.
They chose instead to cross to the Patton Glacier and may head down it to reach the Crosswell Glacier. It could take around a week to travel from Giovinetto to the base of Vinson Massif, and a further week to complete the ascent of the Massif. The actual timing though will depend on the route that is finally chosen and the weather conditions that prevail during that time, especially on the upper parts of Vinson Massif itself.
The group reported on 26 November that they had an estimated 40 days of food left, an amount that would be enough to last them until around 5 January, a time by which they had expected to be back at the Patriot Hills. Should the four complete the climb of Vinson Massif by the middle of this month, a timetable that is now very tight, they will only be a third of the way along their planned traverse to the Patriot Hills and could face a difficult task if they are to complete the full traverse as planned.
Each of the three traverses that are currently en route to the South Geographic Pole (SGP) in the Ellsworth Land sector has made good progress over the last two weeks, averaging 15-25 km per day. By 3 December, two of the groups were just over 700 km from the Pole, while the third was some 140 km further to the north.
US tour company Adventure Network International's (ANI) six-person commercial 'Ski South Pole' party, which is being led by Canadian Matty McNair, was furthest south and was approaching latitude 84 south, while her partner Paul Landry's four-man group was seven kilometres away to the north-east (ANAN-86/09, 20 November 2002). If they are able to maintain their present rates of progress of 20-25 km a day, both groups could reach the SGP sometime in the first week of January.
While McNair's and Landry's groups appear to have travelled every day, the third group, the 'Cure Walk' pair of Will Cross and Jerry Petersen, took a rest day on 26 November. The two men, who are believed to have left the Patriot Hills 4-5 days behind the other two groups due to delays to their flight into Antarctica, were moving more slowly, averaging just on 15-20 km a day when travelling. At that rate they will not reach the SGP until the second half of January.
While the twelve people in the three parties trekked south, the 'Ice Kites' group completed the testing of their vehicles on a glacier in Switzerland and their equipment is now en route to Punta Arenas, Chile.
Brian Cunningham and Jamie Young proposed riding custom-made buggies from the SGP back to the Patriot Hills. They and their equipment are scheduled to be flown to the Patriot Hills from Punta Arenas on 21 December. If conditions allow, they may commence their northward journey from the SGP before New Year and could therefore pass the three south-bound groups on the way.
A "power surge" on board the tour ship 'Explorer' on 19 November, during operations in Antarctic Peninsula waters, damaged the ship's radar and a generator and led to the vessel returning early to Ushuaia, Argentina, as a precautionary measure. The ship was subsequently delayed a day on its next scheduled voyage while it awaited parts to complete repairs.
'Explorer' was conducting its first full voyage of the 2002-03 austral summer when the surge occurred. The vessel had left Stanley in the Falkland Islands on 8 November, visited South Georgia and the South Orkney Islands, before arriving in the South Shetland Islands region on 17 November.
The ship's operators, US-based Explorer Shipping Corporation (ESC), told ANAN last week that the surge "burnt out the power supply cards in Explorer's radars" and "damaged an alternator on one of the ship's three generators". Following the event, the decision was taken to cut short the voyage by three days and the vessel returned directly to Ushuaia, arriving several days earlier than had been planned.
A technician and parts were flown to Ushuaia from the UK to repair the radar. The damaged alternator was removed so that a thorough inspection of it could be undertaken. As a precaution, a portable generator was installed as a back-up until such time as the ship's engineers were satisfied that "all the generators are working properly and independently" according to an ESC spokesman.
Explorer's intended 23 November departure from Ushuaia, which involved mainly French clients, was delayed for just over 24 hours because delivery of the portable generator, which had to be trucked all the way from Buenos Aires, was delayed. Once the back-up unit arrived at the wharf in Ushuaia it only took three hours to install it on the ship and complete all the necessary inspections.
ESC says that there was no danger to anyone on board the Liberian-registered 'Explorer' as a result of the incident. "Mechanicals can and do sometimes fail no matter how well they may be maintained" said the spokesman, but "fortunately the situation ended safely for all and we are glad to be back at sea".
The 'Explorer' pioneered Antarctic tour operations as the 'Lindblad Explorer', making its first visit to the Antarctic Peninsula in 1970. Engine problems discovered during routine maintenance last year led to the cancellation of the first of ten voyages that had been planned for 'Explorer' during the 2001-02 austral summer (ANAN-58/05, 7 November 2001).
Following an approach from several experienced kayakers, Australian company Peregrine Adventures is proposing to conduct 'overnight' kayaking trips on two of the ten voyages its ship 'Akademic Ioffe' (aka 'Peregrine Mariner') is to make in the Antarctic Peninsula region in 2002-03. The trips, which could involve up to six clients and a qualified guide, are expected to involve a day-long paddle followed by a camp on shore for the 'night' before the party rejoins the ship the next day.
Peregrine's Antarctic and Marine Operations Manager, Andrew Prossin, says that both trips will occur in areas where there are broad bays so that the kayakers, who will be in constant radio contact with 'Ioffe', will never be far from it should the weather deteriorate. Both operations will be timed to coincide with one of the company's now well-established overnight camping options from the ship (ANAN-86/05, 20 November 2002).
Prossin also told ANAN last week that his company's plans to conduct 3 to 4-day mountaineering visits to Wiencke Island will not now go ahead this season (ANAN-77/08, 17 July 2002). He said that interest in the concept has "been good", but that several clients recently withdrew their bookings. Despite the cancellations, Peregrine says that it "sees demand for this very special product" and plans to offer the climbs again in 2003-04.
US adventurer Doug Stoup has added an ascent of 4,852-m high Mount Tyree in the Sentinel Range of Ellsworth Land to the activities he hopes to conduct in Antarctica during the 2002-03 austral summer. Stoup has previously announced plans to ride a specially-designed bike on the continent and climb and ski Mount Francais on Anvers Island off the Antarctic Peninsula this season.
Mount Tyree is a prominent bare-rock peak that lies some 13km to the north-west of Vinson Massif, Antarctica's highest mountain. According to the latest entry on his web site, Stoup and his "team" are aiming to climb Tyree via a new route up its north-western face during the first two-weeks of January.
The party is scheduled to be flown into the Patriot Hills from Punta Arenas, Chile, by US tour company Adventure Network International (ANI) on 28 December by Ilyushin-76. Using its Cessna 185 aircraft, ANI will then fly them, as weather allows, the 220 km north to the Patton Glacier whose upper reaches lie on the north-east flank of the mountain. A base camp is to be established on that glacier and, if the ascent of Tyree is successful, Stoup says that "other ascents of mountains in the region may be attempted".
Stoup will attempt his bike ride in the last half of January after he returns from Tyree, and then will fly from the Patriot Hills to Punta Arenas then back to King George Island for the attempt on Mount Francais in the first half of February (ANAN-86/11, 20 November 2002).
HALF THE 'ECLIPSE SIDE' SEATS ON NOVEMBER 2003 OVERFLIGHT BOOKED
[ANAN-87/10]
Australian company Croydon Travel has sold 23 of the 48 "unobstructed" window seats available on the "eclipse side" of the Qantas Boeing 747-400 aircraft it plans to use to observe a total eclipse of the sun over East Antarctica late next year. As yet, though, there have been few sales on the 'sightseeing' side of the 747 since bookings for the flight opened last month.
The event will be observed high above Russia's Mirny station in Queen Mary Land on 24 November 2003, the aircraft leaving from, and arriving back at, Perth in Australia's south-west. The flight should be able to fly as high as 13,100 m during totality, which at Mirny's latitude would normally mean it will be well above any cloud that may be in the area at the time.
Complete darkness at totality will last less than two minutes, therefore one side of the aircraft is being sold for eclipse enthusiasts and the other to 'sightseers' as the aircraft will conduct a standard overflight program after the eclipse has ended (ANAN-79/04, 14 August 2002). Sightseers will be able to watch the solar event on the aircraft's television monitors.
Three other companies are currently planning to offer tourists the opportunity to observe the eclipse next year, one from a ship and the others from locations on the continent itself (ANAN-79/09, 14 August 2002).
Croydon Travel said earlier this week that it will only operate three overflights from Australia during the 2002-03 austral summer. Those flights will operate from Sydney on 31 December and 9 February and Melbourne on 19 January. Several months ago the company anticipated that it might conduct a fourth and fifth flight, but they will now not occur.
This season's three flights will bring to 67 the number of overflights that have been conducted by Croydon Travel since its first on New Year's Eve 1994. Over the eight seasons to date, over 22,000 passengers and 1,300 crew members have overflown parts of coastal regions between Mirny in the west, and the Terra Nova Bay area of Victoria Land in the east.
NEWEST EDITION OF THE ANTARCTIC TREATY HANDBOOK 'ON LINE'
[ANAN-87/11]
The US Department of State (DOS) posted the newest edition of the 'Handbook of the Antarctic Treaty System' on-line on 22 November.
The Handbook contains all the relevant Antarctic agreements, including the Antarctic Treaty itself, the Protocol on Environmental Protection, the Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Seals, the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, as well as the many recommendations, measures, decisions, and resolutions that have been adopted at Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings over the past 40 years.
The DOS says that what is the ninth edition of the Handbook has been "rearranged and simplified" somewhat from that of the last edition which was published in 1994. Preparation of the new document, which was edited by Harlan Cohen of the US Department's Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, was funded by the US National Science Foundation.
The Handbook can be accessed at: http://www.state.gov/g/oes/rls/rpts/ant/
COMING EVENTS RELEVANT TO NON-GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES
[ANAN-87/12]
Please forward notice of events via e-mail to: tourism@aad.gov.au. Up-dates are made to ANAN's web site at: http://www.antdiv.gov.au/goingsouth/tourism/Research/BibConf/Confer/default.asp as soon as new information comes to hand.
YEAR 2003
3 March (King George Island, Antarctica)
Sixth Antarctic Marathon and Half Marathon (see ANAN-68/09, 13 March 2002).
Contact: marathon@shore.net (Thom Gilligan).
5-8 May (Seattle, United States).
IAATO annual meeting.
Contact: iaato@iaato.org (Denise Landau)(invitation required).
9-20 June (Madrid, Spain)
Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting XXVI.
8-11 July (Brest, France)
COMNAP XV (including the sub-committee on Tourism and Non-Government Operations).
Contact: jsayers@comnap.aq (Jack Sayers).
18-20 September 2003 (Cambridge, U.K.)
Conference on the future of South Georgia (see ANAN-77/07, 17 July 2002).
Contact: David.Rootes@polesapart.org or rwburton@ntlworld.com.
24 November (Queen Mary and Dronning Maud Land regions).
Total solar eclipse (See ANAN-79/09, 14 August 2002).
YEAR 2004
Sometime around mid-year [Dates to be set] (Christchurch, New Zealand).
IAATO annual meeting.
Contact: iaato@iaato.org (Denise Landau)(invitation required).
November-March 2005 (Single-handed Around-the-world via the Southern Ocean)
Vendee Globe 2004 Yacht Race (see ANAN-79/11, 14 August 2002).
November-March 2005 ('Wrong way around' yacht race via the Southern Ocean)
BT Global Challenge Yacht Race.
December-February 2005 (Circumnavigation of Antarctica).
Antarctica Cup yacht race (see ANAN-79/11, 14 August 2002).
YEAR 2005
November-March 2006 (Around-the-world via the Southern Ocean)
Volvo Ocean Yacht Race.
Next edition issued on Wednesday, 18 December 2002 @ 0600 UTC.
Deadline for items: Sunday, 15 December 2002 @ 2359 UTC.
ANTARCTIC NON-GOVERNMENT ACTIVITY NEWS (ANAN)
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.
Links provided in ANAN stories are working at the time of first publication.
AVAILABLE ON LINE TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY:
ANAN archive (including this issue with its built in links):
http://www.antdiv.gov.au/goingsouth/tourism/News/default.asp
Coming events related to non-governmental activity:
http://www.antdiv.gov.au/goingsouth/tourism/Research/BibConf/Confer/default.asp
Links to tourist industry web sites:
http://www.antdiv.gov.au/goingsouth/tourism/Industry/default.asp
EDITOR: Dave Moser (David.Moser@aad.gov.au).
POSTAL: Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, Tasmania, Australia 7050
TELEPHONE: +61-3-6232-3347 (2200-0600 UTC).
FACSIMILE: +61-3-6232-3357.
RESEARCH/WRITING: Martin Betts (Martin.Betts@aad.gov.au)
TELEPHONE/FACSIMILE: +61-3-6267-4790 (2200-1100 UTC).
FACSIMILE: +61-3-6232-3500.
© Commonwealth of Australia 2002
All images, text and downloadable files in ANAN are copyright ©Commonwealth of Australia 2002 or respective authors where indicated. You may down load, display, print and reproduce this material in unaltered form only (retaining this notice) for your personal, non-commercial use or use within your organisation. Source credit must be given as follows: © 2002 Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston Tasmania 7050
Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved.
Requests for further authorisation should be directed to:
The Editor, ANAN
Antarctic Treaty and Government Section
Australian Antarctic Division
KINGSTON TAS 7050
AUSTRALIA
or by email to tourism@aad.gov.au