ANTARCTIC NON-GOVERNMENT ACTIVITY NEWS
Tourism Industry |
Brief news items on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic
non-government expedition activities.
ANAN 85
Wednesday, 6 November 2002
News in this edition:
85-01. Balloon 'circumnavigation' proposed; logistics a key challenge.
85-02. New tour operator plans full season of Peninsula ops in 2003-04.
85-03. Husband and wife pair guiding separate Hercules-SGP traverses.
85-04. Adventure company to return to the Ross Sea.
85-05. Potential new project and name change for 'Mission Antarctica'.
85-06. Construction of 'next-generation' polar charter yacht commences.
85-07. Sentinel Range group targeting three 4,000 m plus peaks.
85-08. Explorer's Club award for 'Ice Island' film.
85-09. New book backgrounds near-fatal expedition's planning, achievements.
85-10. Coming Events Relevant to Non-Government Activities.
BALLOON 'CIRCUMNAVIGATION' PROPOSED; LOGISTICS A KEY CHALLENGE
[ANAN-85/01]
An announcement posted on Belgian adventure Alain Hubert's web-site last week indicates that he and a companion are hoping to "circumnavigate Antarctica" in a high altitude balloon in January-February 2004. Logistics for the venture could be complex, but Hubert says that project planning is in its very early stages and release of his plans at this time was unintended.
Hubert says that he was not aware that details of his plan, which involves the use of a helium balloon and a pressurised capsule, had been made public until approached by ANAN for comment. The French-language report and an associated map which summarised the flight have since been removed from the web-site http://www.antarctica.org/UK/Gazette_UK/pages/PagOuv_gazette_UK.htm, although a basic reference to it still remains. Because funding and other support for the project have yet to be secured, ANAN was asked to limit the detail provided in this report.
According to Hubert, his flight is being organised with the aim of raising "public awareness of the importance of polar research efforts, the phenomenon of climate change and the vulnerability of the polar regions". Scientific observations will be made during the proposed flight, although the exact work program involved is still "under discussion".
Information released on the web-site indicated that the flight could start from a location at the north-western sector of Dronning Maud Land (DML) and that once aloft, the balloon would float at an altitude of "between 4,000 and 6,000 m". Access to and from the launch site would be via ship. Hubert told ANAN though that the web-site report "contains a lot of errors", that he has yet to determine the best location for the launch, and that the flight will actually be made at an altitude of 6,000 to 8,000 m.
Two possible tracks for the 4 to 6-km flight-level were shown on the web site. One headed eastwards from, and directly back to, the DML launch area, the craft maintaining a course close to latitude 72 degrees south for what was said to be a 15-day, 6,800-km journey around all longitudes. The second track shown ran straight across the South Geographic Pole from DML to Ross Island on the other side of the continent. That 2,900-km trip was expected to take "around a week", although Hubert now says that it was only a preliminary idea that has now been discarded.
The 'circular' flight track depiction may be somewhat idealistic, however, for unlike the region surrounding Antarctica where westerly winds are statistically the norm in the 4 to 6-km altitude band, over the continent itself there are usually two, and sometimes three, centres of atmospheric circulation on a day-to-day basis. As a result, the winds at that height above the continent are generally lighter and much more variable, a fact that reduces the chances that a balloon setting off from DML would actually circle the continent in the amount of time likely to be available for any manned flight.
The situation at the higher 6 to 8-km level is not dissimilar, and is such that predicting the ground track of the balloon, pre-flight, will not be straight-forward. Hubert appears to believe though that it is possible to ensure that the landing at the end of the circumnavigation can be made close to the departure point, although he stressed again that much more work is needed to evaluate what may be possible.
However, given the atmosphere's variability, the area that any recovery operation might need to reach, should an 'out of field' landing occur, is huge. It potentially includes most of the Antarctic continent and parts of the Southern Ocean and could be logistically very difficult and costly to cover. No mention of recovery plans was made in the initial announcement of the flight.
Hubert says that his balloon would be smaller than the one used by adventurer Steve Fossett in his solo 'around-the-world' journey earlier this year. During that two-week journey winds carried Fossett eastwards around the southern hemisphere between latitudes 31 and 61 degrees south. His flight route 'dipped' some 2,700 km further south than the one that had been predicted by meteorologists before Fossett's operation began (ANAN-78/01, 31 July 2002); an illustration of how difficult it is to forecast the route that a high altitude balloon will take on a day-to-day basis, even at relatively low latitudes where the winds blow more consistently.
Alain Hubert has visited Antarctica on three previous occasions. He and Dixie Dansercoer skied across the continent from DML to Ross Island in the austral summer of 1997-98. He returned twice several years later for climbing and trekking activities in DML (ANAN-41/10, 14 February 2001). He has also climbed extensively in other regions of the world, and conducted a number of ventures in the Arctic.
Hubert's companion on the flight was listed as pilot Win Verstraeten who is also a Belgian national. Verstraeten has been active in ballooning circles since 1980 and has conducted over 2,500 commercial flights world-wide. He was on board the around-the-world attempts of 'Breitling Orbiter I' and 'Breitling Orbiter II' in the late 1990s.
Luc Trullemans, a meteorologist with nearly 30 years experience, is also part of the group planning the venture. He has provided forecasting support for many long-distance balloon flights, including the first around-the-world journey conducted by Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones in the 'Breitling Orbiter III' in 1999.
Antarpply S.A., a three-year-old Argentinian company, anticipates visiting the Antarctic Peninsula region with its 70-passenger vessel 'Ushuaia' for the first time early next year. The company, which acquired the ship 18 months ago and is currently up-grading its facilities, plans to conduct a full season of 9 and 12-day tourist voyages to the Peninsula in 2003-04.
Antarpply S.A. was formed by a group of ship's pilots, service agents and logistics personnel from the southern part of Argentina, and businessmen from Buenos Aires. Most of those involved have several decades of experience as Captains and Chief Engineers on ships of the Argentinian Merchant Marine. 'Ushuaia' is owned by a company called the Ushuaia Adventure Corporation (UAC) with which Antarpply has a long-term charter agreement for use of the vessel.
'Ushuaia', which is ice-strengthened and has a helicopter deck, was built by the American Shipbuilding company in the north-eastern US in 1970 as an oceanographic research vessel for the United States National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It was operated by that agency until 1997 and, prior to Antarpply's purchase, carried the names 'Researcher' and 'Malcolm Baldbridge'.
The ship, which as its name implies will home port in Ushuaia in southern Argentina (ANAN-80/04, 28 August 2002), is 85 m long, 15.5 m wide, has a draft of 5.6 m, and is of 2,200 gross tonnes. It has a crew of 30, cruises at around 13 knots, has a range of about 18,000 km and a maximum voyage endurance of 90 days.
NOAA re-wired the whole ship, overhauled one of its engines, and installed three new generators in 1994. Since UAC acquired the vessel, its cabins and public areas such as the dining area, conference room and library have been refurbished, and modern communications equipment installed. That work is being carried out at Mar del Plata in north-eastern Argentina and is expected to be completed later this month, after which 'Ushuaia' is to travel south to its home port.
It is understood that 'Ushuaia' is to visit the Antarctic Peninsula for the first time next February (see ANAN-85/05 following). That operation will bring to 20 the number of known vessels that are expected to conduct tourist-related landing operations in that region in 2002-03 (ANAN-84/04, 23 October 2002).
Antarpply says it has applied for Provisional membership of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators and anticipates that its application will be considered at the tour body's next annual meeting, in May 2003.
Images of the 'Ushuaia' and details about Antarpply are available on line at: http://www.antarpply.com/.
Up to a dozen people from five nations are believed to be preparing to take part in three separate 1,100-km traverses from Hercules Inlet in Ellsworth Land to the South Geographic Pole (SGP) over the next two months. Canadian husband and wife pair Paul Landry and Matty McNair are each leading a commercial traverse, while the third is a fund-raising exercise for diabetes research.
McNair's group is a 'standard' commercial, $US45,000-per-person, 'Ski South Pole' trip organised by US-based tour operator Adventure Network International (ANI). It consists of four unnamed male clients, two from Spain and two from the UK. Another Canadian, Devon McDiarmid, will be the assistant guide. McDiarmid occupied the same position on ANI's 'Last Degree' traverse in January this year (ANAN-65/03, 30 January 2002), and worked at ANI's Patriot Hills camp in 2000-01.
Landry's trek involves three clients and, while commercial, it is apparently not one that has been developed under direct ANI auspices. Apart from the leader, who has already trekked to both geographic Poles this year (ANAN-74/04, 5 June 2002), those involved are Andrew Gerber from South Africa, and Tom Avery and Patrick Woodhead from the UK.
Avery's aim is to become, at 23, the "youngest person to walk to the SGP". He and Woodhead are believed to have originally planned to trek from Ross Island on the other side of the continent to the SGP via the Beardmore Glacier.
That plan had to be abandoned, however, as they were unable to obtain sufficient funding for what would have been a much more expensive exercise than the one now proposed for the Hercules-Pole route. Despite that, UK newspapers were still reporting last week that the pair planned to trek from Ross Island starting in December, a commencement date that would have been far too late given high plateau conditions and the distance involved.
The third trekking group consists of Will Cross from the UK and Jerry Petersen from the US who have been planning their 'Cure Walk' SGP trek in aid of diabetes research for several years. Cross, a diabetic, needs frequent injections of insulin and the challenge will be to stop the 20 insulin injector pens he will need to carry with him, from freezing, as well as having to carefully monitor other related factors (ANAN-81/03, 11 September 2002).
All three groups were expecting to be flown to ANI's Patriot Hills field camp in Ellsworth Land from Punta Arenas, Chile, and on to Hercules Inlet late last week by the air operator. Confirmation that this has occurred is not available at this time, although reports yesterday indicate that ANI's planned 1 November passenger flight from Punta Arenas has not as yet been flown. If they do get under way in early November though, they should reach the SGP sometime around New Year's Day or in early January.
ANI is also expected to conduct a 'Last Degree' trek from latitude 89 degrees south to the Pole in December but no details are available at this time as to how many people will be involved.
Meanwhile, all funds required for another a traverse from the SGP back to the Patriot Hills using two ski-mounted buggies propelled by the wind have now been acquired (ANAN-82/09, 25 September 2002).
An organiser of that trek, Brian Cunningham, told ANAN last week that ANI is scheduled to fly him and Jamie Young and their vehicles into the Patriot Hills from Punta Arenas on 21 December. If weather conditions permit, they should be at the Pole shortly after that date. The pair hopes to make the overland journey back to the Patriot Hills in "less than two weeks" and if they are able to proceed as planned they should pass the three south-bound traverse groups en route.
Mounted on wheels, the buggies were recently tested on a beach in southern Wales and worked "impeccably" at speeds of over 50 knots according to Cunningham. Provided weather conditions permit, further testing is planned on snow near Saint Moritz in Switzerland in the last half of this month. The buggies are to be shipped to Punta Arenas early in December.
Cunningham says that the venture's web site should be on line in the near future at: http://www.kitesonice.com. It was not, however, functioning at the time this newsletter was prepared.
Australia-based tour company Ocean Frontiers plans to return to the Ross Sea in mid-December with its 37-m vessel 'Sir Hubert Wilkins' to support a month-long diving and filming program in the Cape Adare region. News of the voyage, which is being sponsored by a Japanese television channel, comes seven months after the ship was advertised for sale (ANAN-68/01, 13 March 2002).
Reports indicate that the television company has been working on a major documentary on Antarctica for some time and that filming has already been undertaken elsewhere on the continent. The focus of the forthcoming voyage is believed to be on obtaining underwater footage of icebergs, animals and other life in the pack-ice zone: an extensive scuba-diving program is planned in support.
A diving chamber and other associated support equipment installed on 'Sir Hubert Wilkins' earlier this year for an expedition to the Philippines at a cost of $US250,000 is understood to have been a key factor in the selection of the vessel for the filming operation (ANAN-75/06, 19 June 2002). The television group concerned is not the same one that withdrew from a voyage Ocean Frontiers had proposed to conduct with the ship to the Ross Sea last January-February (ANAN-60/02, 21 November 2001).
The forthcoming voyage will be the ship's fourth to Antarctica and its second to the Ross Sea. It first visited Ross Island in February 2001 to pick up adventurers Ann Bancroft and Liv Arnesen following their unsuccessful attempt to cross Antarctica (ANAN-42/04, 28 February 2001).
'Sir Hubert Wilkins' is currently scheduled to leave Hobart, Australia, on 1 December with up to 24 people on board and return there around 15 January.
Operations in the pack-ice zone near Cape Adare are expected to begin around 10 December and continue until about 6 January, a period when significant amounts of ice are still normally found in that region. Other tour ships are not scheduled to visit the Ross Sea until mid-January (ANAN-75/04, 19 June 2002).
Analyses prepared by the US National Ice Centre for December over the last few years has shown concentrations of nine to ten-tenths pack-ice extending 500 km to the north and north-east of the Cape (http://www.natice.noaa.gov/pub/antarctica/ross_west/). Although ice strengthened, the ship has no significant ice-breaking capability, althoug a single-engined Hughes 300 helicopter is to be carried on the voyage for ice reconnaissance and other support.
Ocean Frontiers principal, Don McIntyre, told ANAN last week that while he was pleased to be heading south again his vessel is still on the market for $US1m. The company's yacht 'Arctos', which circumnavigated Antarctica earlier this year, is also for sale (ANAN-68/01, 13 March 2002).
McIntyre expects the larger vessel will be sold as early as February next year but he says that he still has plans to conduct further Antarctic operations "in a few years time". The nature of those plans was not disclosed, however.
UK-based 'Mission Antarctica' (MA) plans to return to King George Island (KGI) next February to evaluate the feasibility of establishing a consolidated, on-going, waste removal operation for the national program stations operating there. The non-government group, which recently changed its name to 'Inspia!', removed substantial amounts of waste from Russia's Bellingshausen station on KGI earlier this year (ANAN-66/06, 13 February 2002).
During the Bellingshausen operation, MA personnel had what reports at the time said were "informal discussions with various bases around KGI" about the possibility of introducing "a single [coordinated] operation" that each year would "supply recycling skips to each [station] for glass, paper, aluminium cans and organic waste", and carry full ones from the island for disposal (ANAN-65/01, 30 January 2002).
Inspia!'s Peter Malcolm told ANAN last weekend that next February's KGI visit, which may involve use of the ship 'Ushuaia' (see ANAN-85/02 preceding), is aimed at investigating such a system in more detail. Discussions are also planned with the "head offices" of each of the national program agencies involved. Malcolm says that while such a concept has merits, it is far from clear at this stage whether such an arrangement could be made to work.
Inspia!, whose operations are funded by a range of corporate sponsors, plans to take representatives of some of them to KGI with the evaluation group. Those on board are also expected to tour the nearby Antarctic Peninsula region during what is envisaged as a two-week voyage from Ushuaia, Argentina.
'Mission Antarctica' is a Provisional Member of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) and Malcolm says that his group is "very keen" to ensure that the vessels it uses for its programs are affiliated with the Association. Ushuaia's operators have applied for membership of IAATO (see ANAN 85/02 preceding).
Malcolm says that the change of name from 'Mission Antarctica' reflects the fact that the group is "expanding its range of environmental and social projects" to other parts of the world. He says that, in the future, names like "Inspia! Africa" or "Inspia! Antarctica" will be used as the banner for the various projects the group undertakes.
Inspia's yacht '2041' will not visit Antarctica in 2002-03, but will instead be taking part in the month-long ocean race from Cape Town, South Africa, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that commences on 11 January.
Further information on Inspia! can be obtained on line at: http://www.earthship.co.za/.
Construction commenced in a South African ship yard last month of UK-based company Pelagic Expeditions' 'next generation' yacht for charter operations in polar waters. Launch of the new craft, which is to be named 'Pelagic Australis', is scheduled for July next year: the vessel is expected to visit Antarctic waters for the first time in 2003-04.
'Pelagic Australis' is being built by Southern African Shipyards in Durban, South Africa. When completed, the vessel will be sloop rigged, have a length of 23 m, displace 50 tonnes, and be able to carry 10 passengers. She will be larger than the company's current yacht, the 16-m 'Pelagic', which can carry up to six clients (ANAN-58/09, 7 November 2001).
Pelagic Expeditions' Managing Director, Skip Novak, who has been working on the new concept for a number of years (ANAN-59/05, 14 November 2001), told ANAN that his new vessel has been designed to provide support facilities needed for future adventure expeditions, science programs or tourist operations in both the Arctic and Antarctic. It will also be capable of fast transit times between those regions twice each year (ANAN-59/05, 14 November 2001).
Novak's view is that vessels the size of 'Pelagic Australis' can carry out many types of surveys and other small-scale science operations more cost effectively than is possible using larger ships (ANAN-82/07, 25 September 2002). "They can [often] venture where big ships can't go" he said.
In order to satisfy "the growing requirement", particularly by government charterers, that passenger-carrying craft used for expedition activity be fully compliant with internationally recognised standards, Novak's new craft is to be "plan approved and built" under the supervision of the Det Norske Veritas Classification Society and meet other similar requirements.
Many of the projects that Novak envisages his company could support with 'Pelagic Australis' will involve groups larger than can be accommodated on 'Pelagic' and will also need a vessel that can operate autonomously for up to three months.
One of the aims of the new design is to provide a better standard of facilities to clients. Therefore, separate cabins for greater privacy, a large pilot-house, comfortable main saloon, a work shop, communications suite and bulk stowage area have been included. As diving charters are a "growing part of the market" the vessel will also be equipped with a compressor, bottle-bank and a dive-platform to support small teams.
The planned communications suite will have room for two people to work in comfort and is viewed as "a necessity" given present day needs of "science and media based projects". The yacht will have both the new 'Fleet 77' Inmarsat 64 K equipment as well as the usual Inmarsat C system and, as a result, will be "fully internet capable". Clients will be "able to download weather maps, satellite pictures, ice data and other information from the world-wide web". They will also have the ability to send and receive digital pictures and stream video clips".
Pelagic Expeditions (http://www.pelagic.co.uk) plans to continue operating its present yacht 'Pelagic' after the new craft comes on line in November 2003. It is viewed by the company as a "more cost-effective alternative" for smaller projects where communication needs are not a major requirement.
Two voyages are currently planned for 'Pelagic' during the 2002-03 austral summer. The first, which is to last five weeks, is due to leave Ushuaia, Argentina, on 15 December. Six Italian ski-mountaineers will be on board and their primary aim is to climb 2,760m Mount Francais, the highest point on Anvers Island, and descend from the summit on skis. The second voyage is due to last eight weeks, and involves a group from the UK who plan to conduct a combined sailing-climbing operation in the South Shetland Islands and on South Georgia. They are due to leave Ushuaia on 23 February and return to Stanley in the Falkland Islands in late April. Little other detail of their plans is known at this time.
US- based company Expedition Sail is also currently constructing a yacht for polar work at the moment. The 17-m, six-passenger capacity craft is expected to be completed early next year and visit Antarctica for the first time in 2004-05 (ANAN-78/07, 31 July 2002).
Four Chilean adventurers are proposing to climb three peaks in excess of 4,000 m during their planned traverse of the Sentinel Range in Ellsworth Land over the next two months. Details of the route and the mountains that the men plan to climb during their 400-km trek were recently posted on the expedition's web-site (ANAN-83/02, 9 October 2002).
The quartet's first target after their deployment on the Newcomer Glacier is 4,255-m Mount Anderson in the northern part of the range. After that, the party proposes to move generally south and east, climbing Mount Giovinetto (4,090 m), and possibly also Mounts Jumper (2,890 m) and Segers (2,460 m) as they head towards their main goal, Vinson Massif.
Once they ascend or pass by Mount Segers, their next aim is to establish a base camp on the Crosswell Glacier. From there, 4,901-m Vinson Massif, Antarctica's highest peak, is to be climbed via its northern face.
Most climbers ascend Vinson from the Branscomb Glacier on its western side until, in the final stages, the approach to the summit moves around to the northern face.
While not believed to be a difficult climb, the lower half of the proposed north-face route has not been scaled before. The Chilean's web site says that "should a serious incident or accident occur there, the mountaineers could be rescued [via the normal route]".
Up to 80 people are expected to climb Vinson Massif in 2002-03 (ANAN-84/05, 23 October 2002), and another small party hopes to climb nearby Mount Shinn to obtain an accurate measurement of its height (ANAN-84/14, 23 October 2002).
After Vinson, the Chilean's planned route takes them down the Dater Glacier in the direction of 3,710 m Mount Mohl, then across the Hudman Glacier into the Heritage Range. The Flanagan and Union Glaciers are to be crossed before the group moves over the ridge-line into Horseshoe Valley and then on to the Patriot Hills, where they are due around 5 January.
The 'Expedition Antarctica' climbing group, Rodrigo Jordan, Eugenio Guzman, Ernesto Olivares and Pablo Guttierrez, were to have been flown into Ellsworth Land from Chile last weekend and deployed on the Newcomer Glacier to start their traverse on 5 November.
No reports of their progress have yet been posted on their web site (http://www.antarcticaexpedition.cl/index.htm).
Other sources told ANAN yesterday that US tour company Adventure Network International's planned 1 November passenger flight from Punta Arenas which was to carry them to the continent has not as yet been flown, the delay probably being caused by poor weather at the Patriot Hills.
A film about the activities of the 'Ice Island' expedition to the Ross Sea in 2001-02 was chosen as the 'Best Exploration Film' at the Explorers Club's inaugural documentary film festival in the US on 3 November. Key focus of the non-government venture was to "study and document" one of the large icebergs that calved from the Ross Ice Shelf in March 2000 (ANAN-39/03, 17 January 2001).
The hour-long 'Ice Island' feature was filmed by joint expedition leader and film maker Wes Skiles and was shot using new high definition digital cameras. It was made in association with the US National Geographic Society who also featured the expedition in its magazine last December (ANAN-63/09, 2 January 2002).
The film is expected to be available to the general public in the near future in video and DVD formats for $US20 plus postage. It is not known whether the video will be released in non-US television formats.
Both the video and the DVD can be obtained from Skiles' company, Karst Productions, via a yet-to-be-established order page on their web site (http://www.wesskiles.com), or via e-mail to: WSkiles@aol.com.
NEW BOOK BACKGROUNDS NEAR-FATAL EXPEDITION'S PLANNING, ACHIEVEMENTS
[ANAN-85/09]
A new book with the title 'A step too far', which details the planning and achievements of 'Expedition Antarctic Peninsula' two years ago, was released late last week. The expedition ended disastrously when one of its members, Peter Bland, was seriously injured after an avalanche carried him over a 15-m ice-fall above Charcot Bay on 30 January 2001 (ANAN-41/01, 14 February 2001).
Bland and Jay Watson, both Australians, were taking part in what was planned as an unsupported sledging journey along the spine of the Antarctic Peninsula from Hope to Charlotte Bays. As they were running behind time, however, they opted instead to descend to sea level above Charcot Bay.
Following his accident, personnel from several tourist vessels and the Chilean national program assisted with Bland's rescue. He was eventually flown to hospital in Chile via King George Island by the Chilean Air Force, and in the year afterwards made a slow recovery in Australia from his injuries (ANAN-49/04, 20 June 2001).
The 290-page book, which was written by Richard Yallop an Australian newspaper journalist, has been published by the Pan Macmillan company. Its ISBN is 0 7329 1154 0 and it sells for around $US15.
COMING EVENTS RELEVANT TO NON-GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES
[ANAN-85/10]
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 2002
16-28 December (South Geographic Pole)
High Plateau Marathon (see ANAN-79/10, 14 August 2002).
Contact: general@adventure-network.com
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 Gillian).
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, 20 November 2002 @ 0600 UTC.
Deadline for items: Sunday, 17 November 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
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