ANTARCTIC NON-GOVERNMENT ACTIVITY NEWS
Tourism Industry |
Brief news items on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic
non-government expedition activities.
ANAN 79
Wednesday, 14 August 2002
News in this edition:
79-01. 'Dash 7' to be acquired for fly-cruise ops.
79-02. 'Strong' interest in ship-based tour programs reported.
79-03. 18 yachts to compete in 'Around Alone' race.
79-04. Three East Antarctic overflights advertised, others anticipated.
79-05. Fate of stranded 'An-3' still not clear.
79-06. Schooner to return for Peninsula, South Georgia, visits.
79-07. HAL reduces fare for Amsterdam's Antarctic visit, world voyage.
79-08. Proposed SGP bike journey deferred until 2004; sponsorship sought.
79-09. Eclipse chasers have fourth option to see November 2003 event.
79-10. Route and dates changed for second high plateau marathon.
79-11. 'Antarctica Cup' entrants edge towards minimum required.
79-12. New edition of 'Polar Updates: Antarctica' published.
79-13. Video on Peninsula ski, snow-boarding venture available.
79-14. Coming Events Relevant to Non-Government Activities.
The Chilean company Turismo y Hoteles José Nogueira (THJN) says that a 50-passenger de Havilland DHC-7 'Dash 7' aircraft is to be acquired to support its proposed fly-cruise operations in the Antarctic Peninsula region. While the company has now cancelled its previously proposed 2002-03 operations (ANAN-58/07, 7 November 2001), THJN stresses that it is "very keen" about the project and that it is now "fully focused" on a 2003-04 start, although the name of the ship for the operation has not yet been released.
THJN spokesman John Rees, told ANAN last week that his company will operate a minimum of five voyages during the 2003-04 season, and that it has "reached an agreement" with Chilean regional air line Linea Aérea de la Patagonia (DAP) for it to "acquire a Dash 7" to support fly-cruise work. Under the agreement, DAP is to operate the short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft on the 1,100-km route between Punta Arenas, Chile, and the Chilean airfield on King George Island (KGI) in the South Shetlands.
Original fly-cruise plans called for chartered C-130 'Hercules' aircraft of the Chilean Air Force (CAF) to be used for the feeder flights, which were to be "managed" for THJN by the major Chilean air line Lan Chile. However, those arrangements fell through late last year, as did the proposal to use Netherlands' based Oceanwide Expeditions tour ship 'Grigory Mikheev' for the week-long 'cruise' portion of the operation (ANAN-62/01, 19 December 2001).
Built in Canada, the four-engined, turbo prop 'Dash 7' is a proven performer, having been used by airlines on commuter and other routes in many parts of the world since the mid 1980s. The UK national program uses a 'Dash 7' in Antarctica for flights on the 1,560-km route between the Falkland Islands and its Rothera station in the south-west Antarctic Peninsula region.
The aircraft has the range to fly from Punta Arenas to KGI and return without refuelling, the one-way flight time to the Tenente Marsh airfield on the island being in the order of 100 minutes. This provides two important advantages: it allows the aircraft to return to Punta Arenas should the weather at KGI turn bad at short notice and prevent a landing being made there, and it means that no fuel has to be shipped to KGI to support the flights.
Dash-7's STOL capabilities normally allow it to land in a distance of less than 800 m and take off in around 900 m, even when at maximum weight. The Chilean airfield on KGI is 1,292 m long.
DAP has operated smaller twin-engined 'Twin Otter' and 'King Air' aircraft on the Punta-KGI route since 1990, flying both tourists and national program personnel from a number of countries to and from the island (ANAN-17/03, 15 March 2000). The one-way flight time for these aircraft, which carry 9-12 passengers at a time, is in the order of 4-5 hours, significantly longer than a 'Dash 7' flight.
Rees says that "final arrangements are under way" for DAP to lease a 'Dash 7' from mid-2003. It is not known if the airline plans to use it to support its 'normal' flight operations into KGI or other areas of Patagonia in addition to the cruise-connected flights.
The original 50-passenger capacities of the 'Hercules-Mikheev' fly-cruise combination meant that only a single flight would be needed for each cruise operation. The 'Hercules' could also carry sufficient cargo to 'top-up' ship supplies before each voyage, allowing the ship involved to operate in Peninsula waters for several months at a time, possibly only returning once to Punta Arenas during the austral summer to bunker and stock up on bulk supplies (ANAN-51/04, 18 July 2001). The Dash 7's capacity suggests therefore that THJN will be looking at 'Mikheev' or an ice-strengthened ship of similar size for the sea-based side of the program.
The viability of the fly-cruise concept centres on the ability of an operator to maintain advertised flight schedules into KGI as weather often delays flight operations and the airfield is often unavailable due to CAF aircraft movements. Ship-shore operations at KGI may also be an issue, particularly in poor weather.
According to John Rees though, the CAF have advised "that operations [into KGI] have never been suspended for more than 48 hours due to extreme weather [in] summer", and that "a STOL aircraft should be the perfect choice to minimise temporary flight suspensions". He acknowledges the priority given to CAF aircraft at KGI, but says that "it is most unlikely [they will] coincide precisely with'Dash 7' flights, and that the CAF "have given us their guarantee on that matter". In addition, THJN "foresees no problems in transporting passengers, their bags and other supplies the 100 m between ship and shore [at KGI], even in unstable weather conditions".
THJN says that "the Chilean Government have given its full support [to fly-cruise] plans, especially through SERNATUR (the official Tourism Board) and the Corporation for Promotion of Tourism, which works closely with Chilean Embassies world-wide".
Representatives of the southern Chilean Province of Magallanes, whose capitol is Punta Arenas, indicated last year that they saw THJN's fly-cruise activities as an important initiative (ANAN-48/01, 6 June 2001). In a move separate to THJN's plans, Empresa Portuaria Austral, the company that operates the port at Punta Arenas, announced on 5 August that it intends to undertake a $US36m up-grade of facilities for tour ships in order "to project [the city] as a tourist hub for Patagonia and Antarctica".
John Rees concluded his comments to ANAN by stressing again that his company "strongly believes in [the fly-cruise] product, [that] we have experience, and are being very realistic about [our planning and preparations]. After 37-years involvement with tourist activities, Rees says he has "yet to find a venture of this type that is risk free". He believes though that the fact that tourists won't have to cross the Drake Passage by ship "is a major feature" and that THJN's fly-cruise concept will attract strong client interest.
THJN currently anticipates that its fly-cruise web site (http://www.antarticaXXi.com) will be up-dated to reflect its future plans sometime in the first half of September.
A majority of tour ship operators at the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) annual meeting in the UK last month were buoyant about 2002-03 austral summer bookings. As of early July, reservations held for voyages to the Antarctic Peninsula region were in the words of one company representative, "quite impressive, and probably better than [has] been seen before so early in the year", although some "soft spots" apparently still remain.
The reported strong demand follows a surge of interest in Antarctica late last year after world events in the last quarter of 2001 saw sales drop dramatically in October (ANAN-77/01, 17 July 2002). Some experienced Antarctic marketing personnel have suggested cautiously that the current rise in interest may signal the start of a "particularly positive" period for the industry over the next few years.
It remains to be seen, however, just how current interest will translate into actual visitor numbers. Some industry observers are urging 'great caution' about making too many predictions for the next year or so because of world-wide economic and security uncertainties. However, with increased berth capacity in the Peninsula area on both medium-sized 'expedition-type' vessels and large cruise liners next season, an increase in bookings will be needed if all companies are to run viable programs.
While the outlook for next season appears generally positive, there are still some areas where bookings are described as "soft". The November period, when many ships are offering a large number of 19-day voyages that include visits to the island of South Georgia, is believed to be "light on" for bookings, although that month is traditionally less popular. There are also apparently some "uncertainties" regarding client interest in travel on at least one of the larger cruise ships (see ANAN-79/07 following). However, ship operators do not normally obtain a clear picture of how any one austral summer is going to develop until early September. It is then that they consider adjustments to their schedules, although for many there may not be a lot of room for adjustment that late in the planning year.
US company Quark Expeditions has already moved to address the November situation by offering clients a hefty 25 per cent discount on the advertised fare on five of the voyages (by three of its ships) in November. Discounts of ten per cent in November have been customary in the past.
Given the reported strong demand and the time of the year, and provided world economic or security factors do not affect bookings in the next six months, it appears that there is still potential for a new record for visitor numbers in the Antarctic Peninsula area to be set early next year. Overall voyage berth capacity currently on offer to the Peninsula is far in excess of the existing landings record (ANAN-75/01, 19 June 2002).
An extra ten 'landing' voyages are listed for the Antarctic Peninsula region in 2002-03, over that of 2001-02, and the average maximum passenger capacity of the vessels involved looks like being around 140, compared with 125 last season. The presence of three IAATO Category 3 vessels, which will each be making a voyage to the Peninsula, will add to total tourist numbers, although their passengers will only sight see, not land (ANAN-75/02, 19 June 2002).
Eighteen single-handed yachts are to spend over a month in sub-Antarctic waters during the 2002-03 austral summer as part of the world-circling 'Around Alone' yachting event. The 46,000-km, seven-month long race, that has been run every four years since 1982 as the 'BOC Challenge', is, with the 'Vendee Globe', the only solo around-the-world event on the yachting calendar.
The 18 yachts that are expected to commence the race next month will be between 12 and 20 m in length and will compete in one of three classes. Their skippers, who will each pay close to $US20,000 to take part, are expected to come from a dozen nations (Australia, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, Switzerland, the UK, and the US).
The five-leg journey is to start in Newport, in the north-eastern US on 12 September, sail to New York and the UK, then head south to Cape Town, South Africa. From there, two long sub-Antarctic passages are to be made: the first a 11,400-km passage from Cape Town to Tauranga, New Zealand; and the second a 12,560-km trip from there to Salvador, Brazil, via Cape Horn. The fifth leg will take the yachts back to Newport.
Yachts should enter sub-Antarctic waters for the first time in mid-December to the south-east of Cape Town, arrival in Tauranga being listed for around New Year. After a three-week break they are to leave NZ on 26 January and should round Cape Horn sometime in the last half of February.
The shortest route that the yachts could use on the two sub-Antarctic legs of the race would take them as far south as latitude 60 degrees, or further, well into areas where icebergs are normally found. ANAN has not yet been able to obtain details from race organisers on what search-and-rescue arrangements will apply or whether participants will be required to limit the southernmost extent of their passages to a particular latitude.
Entrants in this year's race are required to show that they have a minimum third party liability insurance cover for the race in excess of $US3m. All craft must carry a 'mini M' satellite telephone as well as a standard Inmarsat C terminal and have software that allows 'polling' and data reporting. The latter will enable each yacht's position to be determined on a near 'real time' basis.
In the five previous races under the 'BOC Challenge' banner, 87 competitors from 15 nations have crossed the start line, 56 of them finishing successfully. Of the 31 skippers who did not finish, 22 retired, 6 abandoned their boats and were rescued, one ran aground and lost his boat, one was lost overboard and another and his boat disappeared without trace.
Sub-Antarctic waters are particularly tough on both the boats and their skippers, many problems having been experienced there in previous events: dis-mastings have occurred, several competitors have had to pick up their colleagues from boats that were in trouble, while others had to be rescued deep in the Southern Ocean by vessels dispatched specially from Australia. Both missing sailors were lost in the region west of Cape Horn.
'Around Alone' is being organised by UK-based Clipper Ventures who acquired the rights to the race from Great Adventures Ltd in April last year. Clipper's publicity material says that the company is focussed on "developing and promoting major events capable of attracting significant participation, income, media coverage and associated sponsorship revenue".
Only three tourist overflights of Eastern Antarctica from Australia have been advertised for the 2002-03 austral summer, however, organisers are currently anticipating that an additional two flights may be undertaken by season's end. Sixty-four overflights have now been conducted by Australian company Croydon Travel since its first on New Year's Eve 1994, averaging six flights per season in recent years (ANAN-67/07, 27 February 2002).
The three flights advertised to date by Croydon Travel are scheduled for 31 December, 19 January and 9 February, the first and last operating from Sydney and the other from Melbourne. Boeing 747-400 aircraft from the airline Qantas will again be used to conduct the planned flights.
Phil Asker, Croydon's Managing Director, told ANAN this week, that there is "almost certainly going to be a fourth [flight] and possibly even be a fifth". Should the extra flights go ahead they would take place in late January and early February; one possibly operating from Adelaide on Australia's south-central coast.
Asker says that he had taken a decision not to run the early November flight this year. That operation has in the past been used by the company to 'launch the season', as it carried television crews and print journalists who provided Croydon with "excellent publicity Australia-wide" from which bookings for the rest of the summer would flow. However, last November for the first time, very little publicity resulted from the flight and as it had never been a good revenue earner, the decision was made to delete it from the program.
Croydon's 31 December New Years Eve flight, which is timed so that the aircraft is over Antarctica at the stroke of midnight local time, will for the first time depart from and return to Sydney with no intermediate stops. The flight has traditionally operated out of Sydney but picked up the bulk of passengers in Melbourne before heading south. The aircraft also stopped in the southern city on the return journey but that meant people boarding in Sydney were on board for 18 hours. The new arrangement is designed to cut that time by almost a third.
Asker also reiterated his company's 'firm intention' to conduct an overflight to observe the total eclipse of the sun in the vicinity of Russia's Mirny station in Queen Mary Land (QML) in November 2003 (ANAN-59/04, 14 November 2001). The company is not taking bookings for the flight as yet as it is still working on just how it is "going to charge for the different classes that will be involved". Marketing of seats is particularly complex on the flight because of the nature of seat requirements for the eclipse operation according to Asker, although he emphasised that interest in it is 'very high'.
The period of complete darkness in the QML region is only expected to last for less than two minutes (see ANAN-79/09 following) and it will not be possible for passengers on both sides of the aircraft to be able to obtain a direct view of the eclipse during the period of totality. Real-time pictures of that event will, however, be available for those on the non-sun side via the aircraft's video viewing system. Croydon therefore intends to sell seats on one side of the aircraft to those with a direct interest in the eclipse, while those on the other side will be there primarily for overflight sightseeing. Normal sightseeing over the fringes of the continent will be available to both groups during the flight. Some of the eclipse-side seats are expected to be 'booked' by enthusiasts so that they can set up cameras and other instruments to record the spectacular solar event.
The aircraft for the flight will operate out of Perth in south-western Australia and is scheduled to leave there in the late evening (local time) on 23 November 2003. It will be the first such operation out of Perth for four years and requires the aircraft to be pre-positioned there from Qantas' main operating base in Sydney, 3,300 km to the east. Qantas Boeing 747-400 operations from Perth are capable of overflying coastal regions between the Larsemann Hills in Princess Elizabeth Land in the west, and Australia's Casey station in Wilkes Land 1,500 km to the east. The centre line of the zone of totality will cross the coast almost exactly half-way between those two localities.
Options have apparently been developed for the recovery of the Russian-registered Antonov-3 (An-3) aircraft that became stranded at the South Geographic Pole (SGP) last January, however, no formal announcement has yet been made on the approach that is to be taken. The aircraft, which carried 14 people to the Pole from the Patriot Hills in Ellsworth Land as part of a private expedition, was left there after developing engine problems (ANAN-66/02, 13 February 2002).
It is understood that the aircraft's owners made initial enquires with several air operators about flying a new engine, technicians and pilots to the SGP late last January so that they could "change the engine" and fly the aircraft from the region". The repaired plane was to have then been flown to the Patriot Hills and then on to Punta Arenas, Chile. Few details have been released about this plan, although it is believed that it is one of several options that are currently being considered for the 2002-03 austral summer.
Of the 14 who were stranded at the Pole after the aircraft became unserviceable, seven were Russian government officials and the others were private citizen from France, Sweden, Switzerland, the Ukraine and the United States (ANAN-64/01, 16 January 2002).
US-based tour operator Adventure Network International (ANI) flew the seven private visitors from the Pole, reportedly charging each person $US25,000 for the one-way flights involved; a fee that was on top of the $US8,000 they had each reportedly paid to France-based Polar Circle Expeditions to participate in the Pole visit.
Media reports earlier this year suggested that the seven government officials were flown to New Zealand by US national program aircraft, and subsequently charged, and are paying, a total of $US56,000 for that service.
The An-3 has been closed up and tethered on a berm at the Pole over the seven months since its stranding. It is not known what condition the aircraft is in as a result of its enforced stay-over during the 2002 austral winter.
The restored 50-m three-masted sailing vessel 'Oosterschelde', is to conduct tourist voyages to the Antarctic Peninsula and South Georgia in January and February next year. The vessel, which has made five visits to Peninsula waters during its two previous sojourns to the southern hemisphere, will, however, be visiting sub-Antarctic South Georgia for the first time.
'Oosterschelde', which was built in The Netherlands in 1918 and whose home port is Rotterdam, was restored at a cost of around $US1.6m over the four years commencing in 1988. The vessel has been completely refitted internally with two- and four-berth cabins for up to twenty-four passengers and eight crew (ANAN-14/05, 2 February 2000).
Operators of the top-sail schooner, the non-profit Rotterdam-based Oosterschelde Shipping Company (OSC), recently secured a contract for the vessel to be used in the making of a feature film about a late 19th century French expedition in the Beagle Channel. The opportunity is also being taken to conduct visits with fare-paying passengers to neighbouring regions.
Provisional schedules posted on the vessel's web site last week indicate that she is to leave Rotterdam on 10 October, and arrive at Stanley in the Falkland Islands on 20 December after a 64-day passage via Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 'Oosterschelde' is then expected to leave Stanley with passengers on 21 December and return there four weeks later after spending just over two weeks at South Georgia. Few details are currently available about that voyage, although transit time to the island is likely to be around five days, and the return journey, which will be into the prevailing winds and seas, up to nine days.
Following the South Georgia visit the schooner is to be repositioned to Ushuaia, Argentina in late January. She is currently due to leave there on 30 January for a 22-day visit to the Antarctic Peninsula, about two weeks being spent visiting sites in the north-western part of the region in the first half of February. The journey across the Drake Passage varies depending on weather and sea conditions but normally takes around four days each way. The cost to tourists of participating in either the South Georgia or Peninsula voyages is put at close to $US4,000 ex Stanley or Ushuaia.
After another tourist voyage to Cape Horn from Ushuaia in early March, a French production company is to use the vessel for filming work over a two-week period; those operations being undertaken out of Puerto Williams, Chile, and focussing on the region in the neighbourhood of the Pia Glacier. The return journey to Rotterdam via the Azores is to start from Ushuaia in late March, and the vessel is due back in The Netherlands by early June.
'Oosterschelde' is the second large sailing vessel listed for a visit to Peninsula waters in 2002-03. It joins the 52-passenger three-masted square-rigged Dutch barque 'Europa', which is 6 m longer. 'Europa' is also scheduled to visit South Georgia from Stanley, although it will be at the island in the first half of December. It will also conduct two Peninsula visits in January-February, the second of which is to leave Ushuaia two days before Oosterschelde's single voyage (ANAN-65/08, 30 January 2002), therefore they will both be in Peninsula waters at the same time.
Oosterschelde's visit south brings to 18 the number of tourist vessels that are expected to operate in the Peninsula region during the coming austral summer (ANAN-75/01, 19 June 2002). Between 10 and 11 other vessels, including the large cruise liner 'Crystal Symphony' (ANAN-69/02, 27 March 2002), are expected to be in the north-west Peninsula region during the time 'Oosterschelde' and 'Europa' are there next February (ANAN-77/04, 17 July 2002).
OSC says that it is considering applying for membership of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO). The company is to submit its environmental impact assessment for Antarctic operations to Dutch authorities for evaluation. In the past, the company has said that while its vessel is in the Antarctic region it follows "guidelines established under the Antarctic Treaty System".
Full details of the schooner's plans are available on line at: http://www.oosterschelde.nl.
Holland America Lines (HAL) has cut the cost of visiting Antarctica on the 'Amsterdam' early next year, and the ship's world voyage as a whole, by twenty per cent. The move means that the base fare for the 20-day 'Antarctic segment' of the world voyage now starts at around $US13,100, while those in top-of-the-range accommodation will pay around $US62,000 to take part.
In addition to the 'new pricing' on the 'Amsterdam' voyage, HAL has also added two additional part-voyage segments to the five originally advertised for the world journey. Clients who are unable to take part in the full world voyage are now offered the opportunity to join the ship for one of seven segments. Both the pricing and sector moves are aimed at attracting additional clientele.
'Amsterdam' and another HAL vessel the 'Ryndam', which can both carry around 1,300 passengers, are scheduled to make overlapping three-day visits to the Antarctic Peninsula region next January-February (ANAN-75/02, 19 June 2002). No fare reductions have, however, been announced for Ryndam's Antarctic visit. Discounting of the 'Amsterdam' voyage comes at a time when operators of many of the smaller tour vessels that make landings in the Peninsula region are reporting a high level off interest in their products (see ANAN-79/02 preceding).
David A. Giersdorf, HAL's Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sales, said in announcing the Amsterdam price reduction that his company "carefully crafted [Amsterdam's] 2003 Grand World Voyage to feature the most attractive destinations, such as Antarctica, which was a huge hit on our maiden visit [early in] 2000". On that occasion, 970 passengers and 670 crew travelled to the region on the 'Rotterdam' (ANAN-19/03, 12 April 2000).
Holland America's 11 cruise ships are to conduct 447 voyages world-wide this year, although only two of those involve visits to Antarctica. By 2006 the company expects to have a fleet of 15 vessels conducting "either port calls or scenic cruise [operations] on all seven continents ". Five new 85,000-tonne, 1,848-passenger 'Vista Class' ships are to be introduced by the company in the next four years, a period that is expected to see HAL's overall passenger-carrying capacity rise by 73 percent.
Plans by US adventurer Doug Stoup to ride a specially-engineered two-wheeler bike the 1,100 km from the Patriot Hills in Ellsworth Land to the South Geographic Pole (SGP) next austral summer have been deferred due to lack of funds. Stoup plans, however, to spend "5 to 10 days" testing the bike in the vicinity of the Patriot Hills next season and believes that "this reconnaissance should help [him generate] the funds needed to complete the [SGP] expedition" in 2003-04.
Stoup has indicated previously that he intends to pull a 30-kg sledge behind his cycle during the trek and that he will have enough food for forty days. However, he anticipates that he may need only 20 days for the SGP ride (ANAN-36/04, 6 December 2000). To achieve this he would have to average 50-60 km per day en route to the Pole, something that is normally only possible with parasails or powered vehicles.
The planned bicycle traverse was originally listed for 2000-01but was deferred as Stoup was leading a trek from the Patriot Hills to the SGP that finished too late for him to undertake the bike ride (ANAN-40/08, 31 January 2001). The ride was rescheduled for 2001-02 but was postponed again due to Doug's commitments as coordinator of US-based Adventure Network International's (ANI) plateau marathon, weather delays to that event precluding the bicycle attempt that was to have followed (ANAN-65/02, 30 January 2002).
In addition to his 2000-01 SGP trek, and his work as ANI's marathon coordinator, Stoup has also climbed and snow-boarded on Vinson Massif and in the Antarctic Peninsula region (see ANAN-79/13 following and ANAN-17/02, 15 March 2000). He was also involved in a similar climbing-boarding expedition to South Georgia late last year (ANAN-60/05, 21 November 2001). He is to return to the Patriot Hills in 2002-03 to work on a "couple of projects" with ANI.
ECLIPSE CHASERS HAVE FOURTH OPTION TO SEE NOVEMBER 2003 EVENT
[ANAN-79/09]
US-based tour company Travel Quest International (TQI) is advertising a 14-day flying visit to Dronning Maud Land (DML) to observe the total solar eclipse that is to occur in that region in November 2003. TQI's operation, which involves flying to DML from Punta Arenas, Chile, brings to four the number of eclipse-related tour programs that are currently on the market.
During next year's 'Antarctic eclipse', the narrow zone of totality where the sun is completely obscured by the moon will first touch the earth south-east of sub-Antarctic Heard Island soon after sunrise local time on 24 November. It will then cross the Antarctic coast near Russia's Mirny station in Queen Mary Land, curve inland over the high plateau, then exit the continent in the vicinity of Russia's Novolazarevskya station on the DML coast just 35 minutes after the event began (ANAN-3/08, 1 September 1999).
According to calculations made by the Goddard Space Flight Centre (GSFC) in the US (http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/TSE2003/TSE2003.html), in the Mirny region, the sun will be 10 to 12 degrees above the horizon during the event and totality will last around 110 seconds; in DML, however, its elevation will be no higher then 5 to 6 degrees and the period of complete darkness will be 100 seconds.
TQI plans call for a field camp to be established in the DML region from where its clients will observe the event, weather permitting. The company is planning to fly its clients to the 'Blue 1' ice runway in DML from Punta Arenas on 16 November a week before the eclipse occurs (ANAN-61/04, 5 December 2001). US tour company Adventure Network International (ANI) is to provide the aircraft, field camp and general support for the operation.
The seven-hour, 3,200-km flight to 'Blue 1' is to be made by an ANI-chartered Iluyshin-76 (IL-76). On arrival at the ice, the eclipse group is to be met and transferred to TQI's awaiting chartered DC3 and Twin Otter aircraft for the short flight to the specially selected campsite within the path of totality. According to TQI, the exact location of the camp, which it is calling 'Eclipse 1', will be determined prior to the tour group's arrival on the ice.
The GSFC estimates that the zone of totality will be around 500 km wide in DML and its predicted centre line runs almost due north, some 200 km to the east of the 'Blue 1' site, although the western edge of totality is a lot closer. The camp, where the eclipse group is to spend around a week, is likely to be tent-based and similar to others ANI has operated in the region in the past.
The IL-76 is scheduled to return to 'Blue 1' on 26 November and fly participants back to Punta Arenas. Fuel will have to be delivered to 'Blue 1' as the IL-76 does not have the range to make the two return flights without re-fuelling. The smaller support aircraft will also need to re-fuel. In the past, fuel has been deployed there either from Cape Town, South Africa, by air, or via a combined ship-air system. Given that the eclipse is to take place very early in the 2003-04 season, fuel for the operation will probably have to be delivered to the ice runway during the coming austral summer.
It would appear that the total operation, which is estimated to cost in the order of $700,000 to conduct, will be commercially viable with anywhere between 20 and 38 clients, although the cost of participating will vary depending on the number involved. Around-half-a-dozen support staff, including eclipse specialists, guides and field personnel, are likely to accompany the group to 'Eclipse 1'.
According to TQI's web site, the company, which was founded in 1996, "specialises in escorted, educational group tours for educational institutions, museums, associations and adventure travellers throughout the United States and Europe". The DML event is one of sixth eclipses that are due around the world in the next 15 months for which the company has arranged special tours.
In addition to TQI's program, South Africa based Trans World Travel has talked about flying eclipse enthusiasts to DML from Cape Town (ANAN-61/09, 5 December 2001); US-based operator Quark Expeditions has scheduled its tour ship 'Kapitan Khlebnikov' to be in the area north of Mirny on the day (ANAN-57/02, 24 October 2001); and Croydon Travel of Australia is to conduct an eclipse overflight to the Mirny area with a Boeing 747-400 aircraft (see ANAN-79/04 preceding and ANAN-59/04, 14 November 2001).
Full details of TQI's proposed operation are available on line at: http://www.travelquestinternational.com.
ROUTE AND DATES CHANGED FOR SECOND HIGH PLATEAU MARATHON
[ANAN-79/10]
The period within which US tour operator Adventure Network International's (ANI) second high plateau marathon is to be run during the 2002-03 austral summer is believed to have been brought forward by three weeks. In addition, the route over which the event is to be run may also be changed in order to make management of the operation safer.
ANI originally listed the time that runners for the 2003 event would be in Antarctica as a week-long period from 4-11 January, the same time period originally scheduled for the inaugural race earlier this year (ANAN-44/01, 11 April 2001). However, persistent poor weather delayed that event and the participants were on the continent for nearly three weeks, the race eventually being run some two weeks later than scheduled (ANAN-65/02, 30 January 2002). As a result, the time allowed ex Punta Arenas, Chile, for this season's event has been increased to almost two weeks, the period now apparently being from 16-28 December. Given good weather conditions, it is possible therefore that the race could take place as early as 21-22 December.
The initial full marathon last January started at a point near Latitude 89.5° south in the Ellsworth Land sector and the course ran the 42 km straight from there to the finish at the SGP itself. A report about the event that was later written by one of the competitors suggested that the runners were well spread out during the run, and at one point he was uncertain of where the route ahead of him lay (ANAN-70/04, 10 April 2002).
Consideration is apparently also being given to running next austral summer's race on a looped or similar course that starts and ends at the Pole. Few details are available at this stage, although such a move is likely to make monitoring of each of the runners during the event much easier and would mean that only one aircraft would be needed at the Pole during the time the race is run. Last season two aircraft were assigned to supporting ANI's races at the Pole, a situation that, given the weather situation, may have impacted on other ANI activities scheduled in January.
It is not known at this stage how many runners plan to take part in the 2002-03 marathon on the plateau.
'ANTARCTICA CUP' ENTRANTS EDGE TOWARDS MINIMUM REQUIRED
[ANAN-79/11]
Plans for the 'Antarctica Cup' yacht race have edged closer to fruition with a sixth syndicate announcing late last month of its intention to take part in the proposed 23,000-km, 'round-Antarctica' event in 2004-05. Event organisers, who need a minimum of ten entrants to make the race viable, recently signed an agreement for construction of the 10-15 identical 25-m yachts involved and are "confident that the race will proceed".
Of the six entrants announced to date, two are from Australia, another two are based in the United States, while the others are from The Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The latest entrant is the second from Australia and is based in the Antarctica Cup's home port of Fremantle in the south-west of Australia. The race's instigator and Chairman, Bob Williams, told ANAN last week that other syndicates from Brazil, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy and the US are continuing to show "strong interest" and that he is encouraging others from Australia and New Zealand to take part.
Race organisers, Antarctica Cup Pty Ltd., have appointed Fremantle-based yacht builder Oceanfast to construct up to fifteen maxi yachts for the event. Williams says that his group aims to finalise race entries by the end of this year in order that construction of the boats can commence early in 2003, although there is some flexibility in that timetable. In October 2004, under plans announced to date, each syndicate is to receive as part of their $US4.625m entry fee, the 25-m yacht that they will sail in the race. This is just two months prior to the event getting under way and will thus limit the time that crews have to fine-tune their craft before they line-up on for the race start.
Bob Williams believes that "significant advances in communications technology [that are due] by 2004 means that we can move up to a level of television coverage [of the race] that will have enormous appeal world-wide". A number of round-the-world yachting events in recent years have used satellite communications systems to broadcast pictures, positions and news of their fleets while they were in sub-Antarctic waters, but Williams is very confident the 'Antarctica Cup' will offer a new viewing dimension.
In order to boost interest from sponsors he plans to hold a media conference in London, U.K., some time in September to demonstrate what he claims will be "the enormous potential the race has to expose individual yacht sponsors' brands and products to a very wide audience". Representatives of the six entrants, and possibly some of the "interested" syndicates, are to be present at that conference. According to Williams, the planned 5-day 'crews' meeting, which was to have been held in Fremantle last month so that entrants could provide input into "yacht design issues", has been postponed until later this year when more syndicates are expected to have signed on for the race.
The 'Antarctica Cup' is scheduled to start from Fremantle in December 2004 and return there some 45 days later after having circled the Antarctic continent. The journey has been divided into 11 sectors or 'legs', at the end of which there is a narrow 'gate' through which each of the yachts must sail (ANAN-73/06, 22 May 2002).
Williams says that this arrangement, plus the fact that each craft will be 'identical', will mean that boats in the fleet will be operating "very close to each other" and thus will be more likely to be able to provide their own search-and-rescue cover should one of them get into difficulties. He emphasised though that the yachts are being designed with the "very difficult" conditions of the Southern Ocean very much in mind, and stressed that many of the 14 crew on each craft will have sailed those waters at least once previously.
The 'Antarctica Cup' fleet is expected to be one of two that may cross sub-Antarctic waters in 2004-05, the other being the single-handed, non-stop around-the-world 'Vendee Globe 2004' event (ANAN-49/05, 20 June 2001). The Vendee fleet could be made up of between 15 and 20 yachts and it seems likely that they will be in sub-Antarctic waters at around the same time as the larger craft, although their race will both start and finish in European waters.
The last 'Vendee Globe' race was held during the 2000-01 austral summer, 17 yachts taking part (ANAN-40/07, 31 January 2001 and ANAN-36/02, 6 December 2000).
2002/2003 EDITION OF 'POLAR UPDATES: ANTARCTICA' PUBLISHED
[ANAN-79/12]
The latest edition of 'Polar Updates: Antarctica', a publication that provides details of Antarctic-related environmental impact assessment procedures, legislation, visitor regulations, guidelines, contact points and post-activity reporting requirements of all 44 Treaty nations, was released in July.
Over 75 per cent of the 51 country entries (including sub-Antarctic territories) have been revised for the new edition and the layout altered to include key legislation and sources of information.
The 2002-03 edition costs $US185. It is published by U.K. based company Poles Apart and can be ordered via e-mail at polarupdates@polesapart.org, or via a down loadable order form which is available on line at http://www.polesapart.org. Its ISBN is 0-9543143-0-1 and ISSN 1478-0267.
VIDEO ON PENINSULA SKI, SNOW-BOARDING VENTURE AVAILABLE
[ANAN-79/13]
A documentary about a ski and snow-boarding expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula region two years ago has been released on video in the US. "The Land that Time Forgot: A Tribute to Hans Saari" was filmed by adventurers Doug Stoup and Rick Armstrong in February 2000.
Stoup and his colleagues travelled south on the tour ship 'Akademic Shulyekin' (now 'Polar Pioneer') on a voyage organised by tour operator Adventure Network International.
In the ten days they spent in the Peninsula area, during which support for their activities was integrated with those of regular passengers, the group climbed a number of peaks and descended on skis or snow boards. The expedition's web site at the time indicated that the activities took place on King George Island, adjacent to Culverville Island, in the region of Paradise Bay and Neko Harbour, and near Port Lockroy on Weinke Island (ANAN-17/02, 15 March 2000).
The video, which is dedicated to Stoup's close friend Hans Saari who took part in the Peninsula venture but died in a ski accident six weeks after it finished, runs for just under 40 minutes and is available in VHS NTSC format only. It can be purchased via Stoup's website (http://www.iceaxe.tv) for $US20 plus handling costs.
COMING EVENTS RELEVANT TO NON-GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES
[ANAN-79/14]
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
10-20 September (Warsaw, Poland)
Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting XXV
10-13 September (Warsaw, Poland)
Fifth Meeting of the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP V)
16-28 December (South Geographic Pole)
High Plateau Marathon (see ANAN-79/10 preceding).
Contact: general@adventure-network.co
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).
2-6 June (Seattle, United States).
IAATO year 2003 annual meeting.
Contact: iaato@iaato.org (Denise Landau)(invitation required).
9-20 June (Madrid, Spain)
Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting XXVI
18-20 September 2003 (Cambridge, U.K.)
Conference on the future of South Georgia (see ANAN-77/07, 17 July 2002).
24 November (Queen Mary and Dronning Maud Land regions).
Total solar eclipse (See ANAN-61/09, 5 December 2001).
YEAR 2004
Sometime around mid-year [Dates to be set] (Christchurch, New Zealand).
IAATO year 2004 annual meeting.
Contact: iaato@iaato.org (Denise Landau)(invitation required).
Next edition issued on Wednesday, 28 August 2002 @ 0600 UTC.
Deadline for items: Sunday, 25 August 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