Cold area Climbing with Northanger

Cape Horn is one of the "Great Capes" of the world. For sailors and history buffs it is a must-visit landmark, a once in a lifetime dream. At the southern tip of South America, the famous profile of its rugged, steep cliffs jut out into the infamous Drake Passage which separates the continents of South America and Antarctica. Before the Panama Canal was built, the majestic sailing ships transporting goods on the Southern trade route would double Cape Horn, crossing between the Atlantic and the Pacific. Under sail alone, many ships encountered treacherous gales and storms, sometimes being blown wildly off their course, and oft times taking months to make a few hundred miles. Today, the only sailing ships braving the Southern Ocean are the racing yachts and a small number of sailboats; some that sail to Antarctica, some that pass from one ocean to another and a few like us who, hopping from one safe anchorage to another, visit Cape Horn.

Cape Horn is the southern extremity of Cape Horn Island, one of a number of islands that are part of the Wollaston Grou. From Ushuaia we will sail east along the Beagle Channel to enter into Chilean waters at Puerto Wiliams the stepping-off point for the "Tolkeinesque" Wollastons. As weather permits we will stop in various wild anchorages, crossing the sometimes tempestuous Bahia Nassau to arrive in the vicinity of Cape Horn. Up to date weather forecasts and predictions allow us to avoid the travails of the early sailing vessels - we have no desire to spend months rounding the Horn!

2. Beagle Channel and Cordillera Darwin Glaciers
Photographic Expedition

The Beagle Channel runs in an east west direction for about 300 miles, bounded to the north by the island of Tierra del Fuego and to the south by the Chilean islands of Navarino and Hoste. The two-mile wide channel, first charted and explored by Captain Fitzroy on the HMS Beagle, forms at its eastern end the boundary between Argentina and Chile.

Our voyage takes us deep into the mountains of Chilean Tierra del Fuego. Long, preciptous fiords cut into the island where massive tidewater glaciers flow from the icy peaks of the Cordillera Darwin to the sea. Anchoring in the secure bays that are nestled into the fiord walls we are able to witness the spectacular glacial displays, both from the security of the boat and on foot.

Surrounding the glaciers is a verdant pardise of pristine beech forest. There are plants, mosses and birds that exist nowhere else on earth. Part of the Agostini National Park, the islands of Navarino, Hoste and Gordon were deemed so unique by a group of international scientists working out of Puerto Williams, that a request has been made to make this area a World Heritage Park.

Very few people visit this area as it is only accessible by boat and compared with other areas of the world that have been exploited for both the resources and for tourism, there is very little activity here. The anchorages where we stop at night may sometimes have one or two boats also anchored there, often a good opportunity to share our experiences around a campfire.

There are no hiking trails, but we have found our own routes to the glaciers and to the heights overlooking the Beagle Channel We follow the wild animal trails through the bog and forests. On some of our hikes, one can believe that our footprints are the first to have ever marked the soil.Our scrumptious meals aboard are often augmented by some of the natural plants and berries growing on the shore. Wild celery is chopped into soups, chaura berries are cooked up into jam to go on our morning pancakes. When in season, our crab pot is set in the hope of catching a few of the delicious king crab (so good you do not have to dip it in butter!).

As no one apart from a few lighthouse keepers live in the channels, the experience of sailing in these waters is like stepping back over a hundred years in time. Though the canoe Indians (now only a few left living in Puerto Williams) did use the Beagle Channel for transiting and hunting, most lived in the drier area of the eastern end of the channel athus the central area of the channel is virtually in the same state as when Fitzroy and Darwin passed through in the 1800's. There are not many places of this scale left in the world in this pristine state.

For this voyage, no sailing experience is necessary. There are a number of different hikes to do depending on ability, all offering spectacular vistas and photographic opportunities. The time of the expedition is planned to coincide with autumnal colours. The beech forests come alive, yellow, orange, red and the evergreen of the beech painting the mountainsides, the seal pups are learning to swim, the whales are in the channels following the migrating fish.

Temperatures below zero; wind like icy daggers; frozen whiteness extending out from a bleak, rocky shoreline—no sign of human presence anywhere. This is the cold reality that greets the six-member crew of Northanger upon their arrival in Antarctica February 2003—the end of the Earth.

Northanger, a 54 foot steel Damien II design ketch, was built expressly with the desire to access remote regions of the globe. Small, compact, self sufficient expeditions to high latitudes. On voyages to Norway, Alaska, Antarctica and through The Northwest Passage, Northanger successfully went to the limits and back.

From Ushuaia, Argentina, we sail down the Beagle Channel, past Cape Horn and cross the Drake Passage on our way to the Antarctic Peninsula. Our landfall in Antarctica is 5 miles off the eastern tip of Smith Island.

Greg Landreth and Keri Pashuk are a husband and wife team who met in the Antarctic in 1986 while crewing on different boats.

They were married in 1990 in Canada and began purchasing Northanger with the idea of using her for sailing and climbing expeditions. Keri is Canadian, from Bracebridge, Ontario and Greg is a New Zealander from Ashburton, New Zealand. Keri and Greg take a special interest in high latitude sailing combined with expeditionary pursuits – climbing in particular.

It is Keri and Greg’s daunting task to initiate their team members to ocean Antarctic crossings – and to keep Northanger’s systems operational throughout the deep freeze to follow.

Built in the UK in 1982, Northanger is a New Zealand registered 54ft Damien II design ketch, built expressly with the desire to access remote regions of the globe. Northanger has a retractable keel making it ideally suited to seek shelter from inclement weather in sheltered bays away from the threat of pack ice and icebergs. Essential communication and navigation equipment is on board including RADAR, Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Photo Satellite Receiver (SkyEye) for meteorological forecasting, Iridium telephone, depth sounder, HF radio and VHF radios.

The yacht Northanger is skippered and owned by husband and wife team Greg Landreth (Ashburton, New Zealand) and Keri Pashuk (originally from Bracebridge, Ontario, Canada). Since 1985 they have participated in high latitude sailing and climbing expeditions (Antarctica and the Northwest Passage) and since 1995 have mounted successful sailing and climbing expeditions to Antarctica, Greenland, Ellesmere Island (wintering over at 76 degrees north), Labrador, Patagonia, South Georgia and the Falkland Islands. One of their most recent expeditions was the support of the first circumnavigation by kayak of the Antarctic Island of South Georgia by the New Zealand Adventure Philosophy team.

Many of their stories have been published in Sailing and climbing magazines. A two part documentary was made for Outdoor Life Network of their first ascent of Mount Foster, on Smith Island in Antarctica. Keri and Greg were awarded the prestigious Tilman Medal from the Royal Cruising Club of Great Britain for this voyage.

The yacht Northanger is a fully equipped offshore vessel - everyone aboard will be provided with life vests with harnesses and survival suits with strobes for cold water immersion (Canadian Coast Guard approved floater suits).

Northanger is a French designed steel sailing ketch owned and operated by Keri Pashuk and Greg Landreth, a husband and wife team. With over 20 years of high latitude sailing expeditions under her keel (including a transit of the Northwest Passage), Northanger is a proven, well found vessel.

Keri and Greg have owned and operated Northanger since 1990, and highlights of their voyaging include 7 sailing and climbing expeditions to the Antarctic Peninsula, two sailing/climbing - kayaking voyages to the sub Antarctic Island of South Georgia and a winter- over on the south coast of Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic. Both Keri and Greg each have more than 20 years sailing experience, 16 of those as owners of Northanger.

Greg is also an experienced mountaineer, whitewater and sea kayaker. Keri is experienced and confident in the outdoors and wilderness logistics, both in winter and summer and is an accomplished photographer. Their combined experience contribute to the overall success of any expedition or project based aboard Northanger.

Specialty Items: (available with prior arrangements). 3 kevlar expedition kayaks with gear, 1 large 4 person base camp tent, camp mats, cookstoves, pots, glacier travel equipment - ropes, ice screws, snow stakes, harnesses, fixed ropes for abseiling, wet weather sailing gear in limited sizing, rubber boots in limited sizing. Also available is a sizeable toolkit which includes power drill, grinder, die grinder, sabre saw, welder,large selection of hand tools, etc. Also aboard are two dive bottles with relevant equipment and 1 large and 1 medium dry suit (with the possibility to organize a portable SCUBA compressor).

Layout and working spaces: Two entranceways into the interior allow for fluid traffic flow. A comfortable settee with dining table at the aft of the vessel allow for a group area to relax for meals, Galley, and is convenient for computer work etc. Four berths along the starboard side have ample storage for personal gear and are comfortable, private sleeping quarters. A double cabin forward gives privacy for a couple or an expedition leader. There is a large work bench complete with vices, inverters etc. It is also convenient for large equipment storage or as an alternative area for office work. The sail locker has space for more equipment if necessary. A Reflex diesel heater located in the forward area of the boat is the main heating source. The bow area of the boat is used for drying sailing gear, and wet working gear. There is ample deck space to carry 2 - 3 kayaks plus the two inflatable boats. A small cockpit aft is protected by a dodger. An interior helm and autopilot are used for comfortable navigation during bad weather. A larger hatch in the bow of the boat allows for larger equipment to be loaded into the interior.

Northanger is available for scientific, climbing, caving, kaykaing, hiking, photographic and film expeditions. The costs noted include Greg and Keri (or Greg and crew or Keri and crew) all food, fuel, use of equipment aboard (please note speciality items must be organised and agreed upon in advance), port fees, etc. It does not include land or air transport, meals or accommodation ashore, personal medications or personal medical, evacuation or liability insurance. Everyone sailing aboard must sign a waiver of liability.

- Northanger is a strong, capable boat with an impeccable record
- Northanger is not a luxury yacht but a combined home and workboat which allows for an expedition to get on efficiently with their business
- Keri and Greg both have years of experience operating in these regions and are keen to share their knowledge and skills.
- A large amount of ancillary equipment is availbable that is not normally offered by similar vessels
- The food is excellent

If you don't have time for a boat &
would like to go to Antarctica, fly: We have 2 day overnight adventure expeditions available.

Ready to do something unique, different, daring, adventurous?. A trip that will make the adrenaline move through your body like never before? Something only a true adventurer would do? Are you one of those Adventurers? If you are...

What you need to do to join us on a unique adventure.

It's simple, just contact us with a rough outline of your requirements and let me, Captain Ben, and my Crew to do the rest for you.

Finally there isn't much we cannot cope with. Individuals or larger parties. Just let us know. "Navigating the Beagle Channel, Antarctica and Cape Horn since 1990."

Ring us direct by Telephone at 5661-621010

Or, for further information on expeditions or flights Patagonia, Antarctica, South Georgia, Cape Horn, and Tierra Del Fuego, please Email me at CaptainBen@victory-cruises.com

Or you may send inquirys to INQUIRIES

Your FREE newsletter, The Patagonian Newsletter Monthly, with information (Email only) on Patagonia, Tierra Del Fuego, Antarctica, Cape Horn, South Georgia and the Southern Islands,
send mail to: capehorn@victory-cruises.com & write "subscribe" as subject.

If you don't have time for a boat & would like to go to Antarctica, fly: We have 2 day overnight adventure expeditions available.

If you don't have time for a boat &
would like to go to Antarctica, fly: We have 2 day overnight adventure expeditions available.