ANTARCTIC NON-GOVERNMENT ACTIVITY NEWS
Tourism Industry |
Brief news items on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic
non-government expedition activities.
ANAN 78
Wednesday, 31 July 2002
News in this edition:
78-01. World-circling balloonist crossed Scotia Sea, Southern Thule.
78-02. Cruise liner interest in Peninsula continues to grow.
78-03. Tour industry concerned at being linked with 'adventure' groups.
78-04. Trans-Antarctic flight listed for mid-January, details awaited.
78-05. Little progress apparent with fly-cruise proposal.
78-06. Heard climbing, boarding, plans deferred to 2004.
78-07. Work on new high-latitude charter yacht well underway.
78-08. Coming Events Relevant to Non-Government Activities.
WORLD-CIRCLING BALLOONIST CROSSED SCOTIA SEA, SOUTHERN THULE
[ANAN-78/01]
US adventurer Stephen Fossett, who earlier this month became the first man to circle the world solo in a balloon, spent almost a quarter of the 13 days that it took to complete the circumnavigation overflying waters and islands below latitude 50 degrees south. During the journey, Fossett's balloon 'Spirit of Freedom' crossed the Scotia Sea and Southern Thule, the southern-most of the South Sandwich Islands, and passed close to Bouvet Island, flying some 2,700 km further south than had been envisaged by the flight's planners.
'Spirit of Freedom' was launched from south-western Australia on 19 June and flew generally eastwards from there on the prevailing winds, mostly at an altitude close to 7,000 m. After leaving the east coast of Australia it crossed central New Zealand, the far South Pacific Ocean, southern parts of Chile and Argentina, the Scotia Sea, the South Atlantic Ocean, brushed the southern tip of Africa, and crossed the South Indian Ocean, before travelling across Australia for a second time until a landing was made in the north-east of that continent early on 4 July local time.
During the total time of 14 days and 20 hours that the balloon was aloft, it travelled in the zone between latitudes 31 and 61 degrees south. A total of just under three days was spent south of the fiftieth parallel, and 12 hours south of 60 degrees. The southernmost point reached was 61 degrees 28 minutes south when 'Spirit of Freedom' was some 250 km to the south-east of Southern Thule.
The balloon first crossed latitude 50 degrees south on 24 June when Fossett was two-thirds of the way across the far south-east Pacific Ocean, however, the craft moved north of that line within a day as the winds swung around to the south-west and steered it north-eastwards across the coast of southern Chile. Soon after it crossed the Chilean coast the upper winds veered to the north west, and 'Spirit of Freedom' passed below latitude 50 degrees again late on 26 June local time when it was near El Calafate in southern Patagonia.
'Spirit' left the coast of South America close to the southern Argentinian town of Rio Gallegos, winds directing it south-east to the south of the Falkland Islands and out across the Scotia Sea. It passed some 150 km to the north of the South Orkney Islands at a ground speed in excess of 100 knots around midday local on 27 June. Southern Thule was passed just 13 hours later at an altitude of 7,300 m. No sightings of the island were reported, however, as Fossett was experiencing only five hours of daylight and there was also considerable cloud reported in the area.
Remarkably, 48 hours after reaching his highest latitude, Fossett was back near latitude 35 degrees south, passing over the southern coast of South Africa late on the evening of 29 June. That dramatic change came about as a result of the upper winds backing quickly to the south-south-west soon after Southern Thule was passed, and this drove 'Spirit' to the north east at an average speed of around 80-90 knots. On its way north the balloon passed within 90 km of Bouvet Island, although again darkness and cloud prevented a sighting being made.
A map posted on Fossett's web site prior to his departure from Australia indicates that he and his support team were expecting the flight to occur at much lower latitudes than was actually achieved. The anticipated track would have seen the balloon travel in the zone between latitudes 30 to 35 degrees south, however, the route that was eventually flown deviated significantly almost from the start. The largest discrepancy of nearly 30 degrees latitude was in the South Atlantic sector.
Rescue of the adventurer could have presented a major challenge had he been forced to put down in either the South Pacific or far South Atlantic segments of his journey. Apart from the remoteness of both areas, the ice analysis produced by the US National Ice centre (http://www.natice.noaa.gov/home.html) for the latter region suggests that east of the South Orkneys Fossett was flying over areas of seven to eight tenths of pack ice for the best part of a day.
Spirit of Freedom's flight was Fossett's sixth attempt to fly around the world solo. Full details of the flight are available on line at: http://www.spiritoffreedom.com.ANAN-78 ends.
Interest by large cruise-ship companies in visits to Antarctic waters continues to grow with US-based cruise operator Princess Cruises announcing late last month that its liner 'Royal Princess' is to visit northern parts of the Antarctic Peninsula region in 2003-04. The ship, which can carry up to 1,200 passengers, is expected to be the seventh large cruise ship to operate in the Peninsula region since the 1999-2000 austral summer.
Dean Brown, Princess Cruises' Executive Vice-president of customer service and sales, was quoted in a company press release as saying that Royal Princess's Antarctic cruise "will be a milestone for [his company] as it will bring the seventh and final continent to our extensive line up of world-wide itineraries".
The vessel joins Holland America Lines' (HAL) 'Amsterdam', 'Rotterdam' and 'Ryndam', and Crystal Cruise Inc. (CCI) 'Crystal Symphony', which by the end of the 2002-03 austral summer are expected to have made, between them, a total of six voyages to Peninsula waters in recent years (ANAN-69/02, 27 March 2002). However, neither HAL nor CCI has as yet formally committed to sending one of their vessels to the Peninsula in 2003-04.
'Royal Princess', which was launched in 1984, is 45,000 gross registered tonnes, 252 m long, 35 m wide, has a draft close to 9 m, and rises some 51 m above the water line. It was constructed in the Wartsila Shipyard in Helsinki, Finland, at a cost in excess of $US250million.
All of the ship's 600 two-berth cabins are 'outside', feature large 'picture' windows and are equipped with multi-channel televisions, refrigerators, and en suites. Public areas on board include a range of restaurants, entertainment areas, film theatres, a casino, observation lounges, and four swimming pools. A crew of 520 is required to operate the UK-registered ship and provide all passenger services.
According to Princess Cruises, what it is calling its "24-day Antarctica" voyage is to leave Cape Town, South Africa, on 20 December 2003, and travel first to the island of Tristan da Cunha before heading for Elephant Island where the vessel is due to spend several hours late on 29 December. Twenty-four hours later the ship is expected to be cruising in the vicinity of Antarctic Sound near the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. Information on the company's web site indicates that the last day of 2003 is to be spent circumnavigating Brabant Island, with passages being made through Gerlache Strait and Dallmann Bay en route.
Deception Island is to be visited very early on New Year's Day 2004 before 'Royal Princess' leaves for Stanley in the Falkland Islands where it is due on 3 January. The next port of call is Ushuaia, Argentina, followed by Punta Arenas, Chile, after which the vessel travels north through the Chilean Fjords before completing its journey on 12 January in Valparaiso.
A representative of Princess Cruises told ANAN last week that it is currently "investigating the availability of an ice pilot" and that an educational package will be prepared for the Antarctic visit. According to the company, it has what it called "enrichment lecturers on most of [its] cruises", however, work on a specific Antarctic package has not yet commenced. The representative also said that they are currently "unable to determine" whether they will become a member of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) prior to Royal Princess's Antarctic operations in 2003-04. "All permitting" for the voyage will, however, be conducted through the appropriate UK authorities who would be aware of any relevant IAATO by-laws and guidelines.
The UK will be involved because Princess Cruises, while US-based, is part of one of the world's largest cruise companies, P&O Princess Cruises (POC), which has its headquarters in London. POC has around 19,000 employees internationally and annual revenues in recent years that have exceeded $US2,000 million.
With a fleet of 18 ships that have a total of 27,370 berths, the company currently operates cruises to Alaska, the Caribbean, Europe, the Panama Canal and other destinations world-wide. Eight new vessels are currently on order that the company says will between them be capable of carrying a total of just over 17,020 passengers at any one time.
POC operates under a number of brand names, including Princess Cruises in North America, which made the announcement about the planned Antarctic visit, P&O Cruises in the UK and Australia, AIDA and Seetours in Germany, and Swan Hellenic also in the UK.
Members of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) are concerned that their industry is being viewed in "a bad light" because of what they say have been, in the last few years, the "inappropriate actions of some adventure groups" with which members have no connection.
The view was expressed during discussions on adventure tourism at IAATO's annual meeting earlier this month, and led to a decision to work to tighten industry-wide coordination of information and action regarding private groups that seek support from individual members of IAATO in order to undertake their adventure activities.
Over the last three years in particular, a few private groups have run into trouble, or have caused difficulties that necessitated intervention by other non-government and government expeditions (ANAN-41/04, 14 February 2001 and ANAN-42/05, 28 February 2001). Others have undertaken what experienced Antarctic operators generally consider as high-risk activities to accomplish their expedition aims (ANAN-63/09, 2 January 2002).
According to IAATO Executive Director Denise Landau, there is a "great deal of misunderstanding in both government and non-government circles about how the industry is organised and just which parts of the non-government sector do and don't fall under IAATO's umbrella".
While acknowledging that her members have experienced operational difficulties in the past, she says that the fact that they have conducted more than 1,000 voyages to Antarctic waters over the past 20 years and that "very few significant incidents have occurred", is an illustration of the high standards they set for their members’ tour operations.
Landau says that she has to "continually explain to people who haven't taken the time to study the facts", that the private expeditions that have run into difficulties have "no connection" with the tour industry proper. "People read about private expedition activities in ANAN or elsewhere" she says, and then "without taking the trouble to read the story carefully, they assume that [IAATO] member's are linked, especially when things go badly wrong".
Such negative perceptions spill over into discussions on "a whole range of issues" she says, particularly at Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meetings, where "important decisions on the management of tourism as a whole" are made and therefore a "clear understanding of the facts is critical if an appropriate and fair result is to be achieved".
Discussions at the IAATO meeting centred around a presentation by the Managing Director of US-based Adventure Network International (ANI), Anne Kershaw, of her company's experiences with adventure groups in the past, and of the check list ANI introduced some years ago, and updates annually, in order to try and "ensure that those who go south with [ANI] are adequately experienced, prepared and equipped".
ANI has supported both commercial tourist and adventure groups in the interior of Antarctica for nearly 20 years, and is estimated to have flown over 1,500 people into the region in that time (ANAN-28/02, 16 August 2000). Since 1985, in excess of 500 people have climbed Vinson Massif, the continent's highest peak (ANAN-19/06, 12 April 2000), 70 or more small expedition groups have conducted traverse, mountaineering and other activities in the interior, and well over 200 tourists visited the South Geographic Pole.
Despite the harsh terrain, climate, and large numbers involved over that time, only four people have died during activities that ANI has supported: one on Vinson Massif, and three in a separate incident while sky-diving at the South Geographic Pole. Kershaw said that by far the majority of expeditions with which she has liaised have been well prepared and that her company's checklist has enabled most problems that may still exist to be identified well before the groups leave Punta Arenas for the ice.
Ship operators have landed or picked-up adventure groups on the continent and on some sub-Antarctic islands in the past, often more than one company being involved in the overall support required by such expeditions. While operators have long acknowledged their responsibilities in that regard, and have often turned away "numerous suspect proposals" in the past, IAATO members decided in Cambridge that an improved, industry-wide coordinated check list should be established.
While IAATO members agreed that they needed to improve the management of the issue, a call was also made to try and find an appropriate way forward that ensures adventure groups are not enveloped by what one member called "too much bureaucracy". However, IAATO says it sees the issues involved as important "both in principle and in terms of the perception people have of [our] activities".
US-based Concorde Spirit Tours (CST) says that it is now aiming to conduct its proposed trans-Antarctic flight with a wide-bodied jet in mid-January next year. However, a contract for charter of the aircraft has not been finalised and bookings for the journey have yet to open. Plans for the flight therefore still appear to be fluid.
The flight across Antarctica is part of an attempt by CST to set a new record time for an around-the-world flight via both Geographic Poles (ANAN-43/01, 28 February 2001). The original attempt was scheduled for November last year but it was postponed following the events of last September in the United States (ANAN-56/01, 26 September 2001).
A brief statement posted on the company's web site earlier this month says that CST has "nearly finalised plans to operate [the] rescheduled [world] flight on [either] 17-19 or 18-20 January 2003". The statement goes on to ask that those who are interested in taking part to "watch this website for future announcements regarding a firm charter contract and opening of reservations".
The November 2001 flight was to have been conducted using a South African Airways' (SAA) Boeing 747-400 aircraft, but CST said when it postponed that flight that it would not now be using SAA in any new attempt on the record (ANAN-69/06, 27 March 2002).
CST's plans call for the aircraft to start its globe-circling journey from the south-eastern US city of Atlanta. From there it is to fly to Rio Gallegos in south-eastern Argentina where it is to refuel prior to the 10,900-km, twelve-and-a-half-hour, trans-Antarctic flight to Perth, Australia, via the South Geographic Pole en route. The third leg is from Perth to Beijing, China, while the last is to take the aircraft from Beijing, up over the North Geographic Pole, and back to Atlanta.
The company hopes that it can make the world-circling journey in just over 50 hours, which, if achieved, would be three hours better that the current record of 54 hours 7 minutes and 12 seconds set in October 1977. Further information on the flight can be obtained from CST's web site at: http://www.concorde-spirit-tours.com.
Plans by the Chilean company Turismo Y Hoteles Jose Nogueira (THJN) to conduct fly-cruise operations in the Antarctic Peninsula region from Punta Arenas do not appear to have progressed significantly over the past six months. THJN's Antarctic web site has not been changed since last November, and attempts in recent weeks by ANAN to obtain an up-date on the project from the company have not been successful.
THJN announced in mid-2001that it planned to conduct up to 11 fly-cruise voyages in the Antarctic Peninsula region in 2001-02, and as many as 23 in 2002-03 (ANAN-51/04, 18 July 2001). Last season's flights were cancelled last October before the season got under way, however, and the 23 flights listed for 2002-03 were then reduced to just five (ANAN-58/07, 7 November 2001). The decision to reduce the extent of their advertised activities appears to have been taken after the major Chilean airline Lan Chile and the Dutch tour ship operator Oceanwide withdrew from the project. Reports last December indicated that THJN's board was then examining how it would move forward from there (ANAN-62/01, 19 December 2001).
THJN said previously that it did not necessarily have to use Oceanwide's 46-passenger vessel 'Grigory Mikheev' for its planned operation. The logistics involved in the proposed fly-cruise program appears to dictate, however, that a similar 40 to 50-passenger vessel would be necessary to fit the logistics involved. The web site for THJN's fly-cruise proposal is available at: http://www.antarticaXXi.com.
ANAN has received confirmation that a climbing and ski-boarding expedition originally scheduled for next month to sub-Antarctic Heard Island in the southern Indian Ocean will not go ahead this year (ANAN-76/02, 3 July 2002). Todd Mason, an Australian mountaineer and snow-boarder, and one of the three adventures involved, told ANAN late last week that the expedition has been deferred until at least 2004 and that more time was required to attract the "serious sponsorship" needed for the venture.
In announcing the decision Mason also said that any future attempt by the group to travel to the island will probably be made from the "African side of the Indian Ocean as it should be more straight-forward than the journey from Fremantle in south-west Australia". Original plans called for a yacht to be used to transport Mason and his two companions, who operate under the 'Pure Adventure' banner, to the island from Fremantle, their planned timetable for the total expedition being very tight given the wind and weather conditions that normally prevail (ANAN-70/05, 10 April 2002).
Apart from the financial side, Pure Adventure has, as has been the case with other recent private expedition attempts to reach Heard, also had considerable difficulty finding a suitable vessel to support their visit to the ice-capped island (ANAN-60/11, 21 November 2001). Mason said that their search for a suitable craft would continue, but he expressed interest in looking at the feasibility of using the French government chartered vessel 'Marion Dufrense' that operates in the nearby region and takes paying passengers (ANAN-7/05, 27 October 1999). The ship was used to support a successful 'ham' radio venture on the island early in 1997 (ANAN-59/01, 14 November 2001).
Construction is well underway in Canada of a new aluminium yacht that is to be used for charter operations in Antarctic and other high latitude waters by the US-based company Expedition Sail later this decade.
Images posted on Expedition Sail's web site (http://www.expeditionsail.com/) two weeks ago show that the so-far unnamed craft's frames and longitudinal structures are complete, that much of the deck plating is on, and that work was just beginning to plate the hull.
The hull is expected to be completed sometime in the next month, after which it is to be transported to Maine, in the north-eastern US for fitting out. That work is due to be undertaken during the northern winter of 2002-03, however, the yacht's first visit to Antarctic waters is not expected until sometime around 2004-05 (ANAN-72/02, 8 May 2002).
COMING EVENTS RELEVANT TO NON-GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES
[ANAN-78/08]
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
YEAR 2003
4-11 January (South Geographic Pole)
High Plateau Marathon (see ANAN-65/02, 30 January 2002).
Contact: general@adventure-network.com
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).
Sometime around mid-year [dates to be set] (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, 14 August 2002 @ 0600 UTC.
Deadline for items: Sunday, 11 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