Antarctic Expedition Countdown
Anticipation is part of the fun of a travel project. I’m happy to announce one of my next travel plans. An Antarctic Expedition!
The Plan for the Antarctic expedition
In February 2016, I’ll board a small sailing vessel with about 10 other adventurers. We’ll be heading from Ushuaia, going south to visit the Antarctic region. Our ship is the Sarah Vorwerk. The Sarah Vorwerk is a 17-meter sail yacht with a steel hull. It complies fully with the Antarctic treaty. The skipper has plenty of experience crossing the Drake passage and visiting the Antarctic Peninsula. It still will be an adventure…
Our plan is to visit among others Paradise Bay, Peterman Island, the Gerlache strait, gamma Island and some international research bases. I’ll be celebrating my next birthday (nope, not telling you!) below the Antarctic circle. Must not forget to stash a bottle of bubbles away…
I haven’t found a way to keep the blog updated without breaking the bank. I hope I will find a solution in the next months. But no promises for daily blogs for now…
De Gerlache
As a Belgian, there is an extra reason to be excited. Belgian explorer Baron Adrien Victor Joseph de Gerlache de Gomery would have celebrated its 150th birthday in 2016. It’s a special year to send a Belgian on an Antarctic Expedition. De Gerlache overwintered (unplanned) on Antarctica in 1897-1899. Many islands in the Antarctic area, such as Brabant and Anvers are named after Belgian provinces. The largest insect in Antarctica is the Belgica Antarctica. It had its name, just like the Gerlache strait as a result of his discoveries.
His adventures lead to Belgium being one of the 12 nations active on the continent in the 1950s. It made Belgium one of the 12 countries to sign the Antarctic Treaty. The treaty governs the special status of the continent. Military activity is not allowed here. Many countries have a science base on Antarctica. I hope to visit some of them.
Art-project
As a photographer, I’m more than happy to explore the possibilities to create an art project around this journey. The ideas still need to be worked out. There are 7 months and 24 days to figure this out. My Antarctic Expedition will have an artistic side, that’s for sure
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Koen Blanquart is a strategy consultant, journalist, and author.
Wanderlust is one of his driving factors, and he shares his travels here on Boarding Today. Koen is also the skipper of SV Bagabonda, a sailing vessel making a slow circumvention of the globe..
Koen recently published a book on how to manage a remote team: The Suitcase Office.
Oh my, we’re so jealous! Have a GREAT trip and enjoy it to the fullest. Can’t wait to see some awesome photos from Antactica.
Thank you! I hope I’ll be able to share a ton of pictures and experiences here!