Home
Russian adventurer sets Antarctic circumnavigation record
Australian News.Net
Tuesday 6th May, 2008 (ANI)
Canberra, May 6 : Fedor Konyukhov, a Russian adventurer, is set to enter the record books after circumnavigating Antarctica, the world's fifth largest continent.
According to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, 56-year-old Konyukhov from Moscow had set out from the West Australian port town of Albany in January on his 14,000-nautical-mile circumnavigation of Antarctica.
The first successful circumnavigation below 45 degrees south took him past the world's three most dangerous capes for sailors - Cape Leeuwin, Cape Horn and Cape Agulhas.
During the adventure, Konyukhov weathered massive waves and hurricane-force winds, and on Monday found himself on a collision course with a sperm whale.
"I went on deck as the sun was setting - and just in time spotted a giant sperm whale on a collision heading with my yacht," he said. "It was steaming towards the Southern Ocean without paying any attention to my vessel," he added.
"It just managed to bear away as it passed five to six metres from the bow. If I had not taken rapid action, I would certainly have hit it," said Konyukhov.
According to Konyukhov's son Oscar, who is waiting for him at Albany, "He has sailed four times around the world, which is nearly 300,000km, which is the distance from earth to the moon."
"He likes non-stop solo, single-handed projects, just him and the boat and the nature," he added.
Konyukhov's journey has been a test run for the Antarctica Cup Ocean Race, which will see competitors race to complete the circumnavigation.
The event will be the only inter-ocean yacht race in which competitors traverse the Southern Ocean between Cape Horn and Cape Agulhas below 40 degrees south.onyukhov is due to arrive in Albany on Wednesday after light winds held up his home run.
 Email this story to a friend
Have your say on this story
|
 |
 |
- Qantas jet makes emergency landing in Manila
Manila/Sydney, July 25 (DPA) A Qantas Boeing 747 made an emergency landing in the Philippines capital Manila Friday after a tear in the plane's undercarriage caused it to lose pressure. [read story]
- ABC's Delhi correspondent faces 3 new drug-related charges
Sydney, July 25 (IANS) Prosecutors Friday laid three more drug-related charges against Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC) Delhi-based South Asia correspondent Peter Lloyd, who was last week arrested in Singapore on charges of trafficking and possession of drug 'ice'. [read story]
- Passenger plane makes emergency landing in Manila
Sydney, July 25 (DPA) A Qantas Boeing 747 made an emergency landing in the Philippine capital Manila on Friday after a tear in the plane's undercarriage. [read story]
- Japan-US alliance should be expanded by including India, Australia
New Delhi, July 25 : The Japan-US alliance should be expanded with inclusion of countries like India, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, South Korea for better strategic and economic safety and better coordination in the fight against terrorism, a Japanese scholar has said. [read story]
- Qantas flight makes emergency landing
Manila, July 25 : Melbourne-bound Qantas Boeing 747 with a large gash in its fuselage was forced to make an emergency landing today after a terrifying 20,000 foot drop. [read story]
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
