Tuesday, March 05, 2013
If you don't know Jérôme Poncet...
I have started watching Life, BBC TV series recently. I treated myself last year when I received an amazon gift card with buying several nature and wild life theme TV series by BBC such as Life, Madagascar, Nature most amazing events and so on. We were watching the first DVD tonight when I heard about this amazing guy called Jerome Poncet. I googled his name and here is his bio. What is in his gene that mine lacking!!! Seriously?
"Having been sailing around the Antarctic area for the last 40 years, Jérôme Poncet is certainly the person who best knows the Antarctic Peninsula and all the islands of the Scotia Sea.
A Pioneer in the Southern Latitudes:
Known first for a 5 year round-the-world trip he accomplished in his early 20s along with his friend Gérard Janichon (from 1969 to 73) on board "Damien", a 10,10m cold moulded wooden sloop they had built.
First small yacht to reach Spitzbergen (1969), to reach the Antarctic Peninsula all sound and to sail below the Antarctic Circle (1973) - Received the "Médaille de l'Ordre du Mérite" in 1973 (the French equivalent of a Knighthood) on their return to France.
In 1974-75 Jérôme built "Damien II", a 15,20m-steel yacht suited to the type of navigation he had most enjoyed: Antarctica and the high southern latitudes. He has lived on "Damien II" with his wife and increasing family (his first son was born aboard) for the 12 following years, from Europe to Brazil, Polynesia, Tasmania, New Zealand, and to Antarctica and the Sub-Antarctic islands.
In the meantime, he participated in several Races such as the Whitbread in 1973-74 (Safety), Saint Malo-Cape Town in 1975 (Skipper), Rio-Southampton in 1975-76 (Skipper), Whitbread in 1981 (Safety)
First yacht to winter in Antarctica in 1978-79 and still the only yacht to have wintered so far South (67°45'S). Since then, about 30 "Damien II" have been built around the world.
In 1987 he settled down with his family on a little sheep farm on an isolated island in the Falklands, a place close to his favorite areas of sailing, to nature and to a lifestyle he and his wife wished to have with their children."
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3 comments:
Hi Hiva, I am a bit confused now. Antarktika and the Antarktik sea, isn't this this part of the world, where Robert Scott and his expedition died from hunger and freezing on their attempt to beat Amundson on their run to the South pole, and where Ernest Shakleton forced his crew throw snow storms and ice-fields only to fail there projected aim ? And there is also Cap Horn, where many ships lost orientation in the storm and disappeared forever in the deep grey sea?
Is it the global warming, or simply another point of view by Jerome Poncet that makes your discription read like a Mediterranean theme cruise with added adventure days ? I have to admit, I have not the most friendly relation to the ocean. Usually I already got seasick just by seeing the waves in a TV program.
Hahahahah I guess it is his passion make this look like Mediterranean cruising :):)
I can imagine that despite the advantage of the delicious mediterranean cuisine during such a cruise, Jérôme Poncet and his family were just trying to find a place on earth with less tourists. In the antarktic sea, I guess, they had lots of time for contemplation.
regards, Michael
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