Wear and tear of icy success

EVEN a significantly damaged mainsail couldn’t wipe the smile off Mariusz Koper’s face as he sailed into Hobart after completing the first circumnavigation of Antarctica south of the 62nd parallel.

Aboard the yacht Katharsis II, Captain Koper led a crew of eight fellow Polish Antarctic expeditioners around the icy continent in 72 days, five hours, 33 minutes and 44 seconds, after leaving Cape Town in December last year.

They completed the circumnavigation on March 20 and arrived in Hobart last night after travelling more than 23,000km.

Captain Koper said he was thrilled to have completed the record circumnavigation.

“No one has ever done it before ... and this was the goal,” he said.

However, on March 30, the vessel suffered major damage to its mainsail during a storm in the Southern Ocean. It suffered a fractured boom when a large wave hit the vessel.

The crew will set sail for New Zealand in two weeks to undergo a repair of the mainsail and some general maintenance of the yacht.

“Damage is unfortunate but hopefully we will be able to fix it,” Captain Koper said. But for now, the crew are happy to have a fortnight break in Hobart.

“Hobart is a place I have a lot of sentiment for, we were here three years ago for the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race,” Captain Koper said.

While circumnavigating Antarctica, the crew collected water samples for a program investigating the spread of micro plastics.