Expedition route >>> jump to the expedition route map!

Our team of three Australians have chartered a yacht from Ushuaia, a town on the island of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, and will sail south to the fearsome and infamous Cape Horn.  At this milestone with fingers firmly crossed for good weather, the team will sail across the Drake Passage to Antarctica. 

They'll make for Hope Bay (63°24S, 56°59W), a sheltered cove on the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and the location of an Argentinean scientific base.  The three kayakers on board will leave the yacht here at Hope Bay and paddle their sea kayaks over 1,000km south, past Rymill Bay (68°24S, 67°W), a small cove named in John Rymill's honour that lies within Marguerite Bay, to the south of Adelaide Island. The crux of this route is likely to be paddling through the passage between Adelaide Island and the mainland of Antarctica.  This narrow passage is known as the Gullet, and is notorious for its poor ice conditions.  However, late in the season in recent years it has generally been navigable.  This narrow passage gives access to Marguerite Bay, a stunning location steeped in history and surrounded by awesome vistas.  From Rymill Bay the team will continue south-west to Cape Jeremy, at the entrance of the George VI Sound.  Here at Cape Jeremy in far southern Marguerite Bay a rendezvous with the yacht will be made for the return sail to Ushuaia.

A map showing more detail of our kayaking route in Antarctica can be found here.

A short history of paddling in Antarctica.

The first major expedition to use sea kayaks in Antarctica was the British Joint Services Expedition lead by Chris Furse in 1982. This year-long expedition was based on Brabant Island, and complete the first circumnavigation of that island while closely supported by Zodiacs (motorised, inflatable boats).  In 1996, Angus Finney and Wade Fairley did the first unsupported sea kayaking expedition on the Antarctic Peninsula. Despite the heavy sea-ice conditions they encountered, they paddled several hundred km along the coast. In 2001, a Kiwi team of Graham Charles, Mark Jones and Marcus Waters paddled from Hope Bay to Liard Island, just south of the Antarctic Circle. This is the longest traverse of the Peninsula to date. These guys have been very helpful in the planning of our expedition... thanks guys!