Mike Horn embarks on a new challenge, “Pole2Pole”, which has never been done before: a trip around the world passing through the South Pole and the North Pole.
At 4:15 pm last Sunday, May 8, 2016, Mike Horn, the adventurer with dual Swiss and South African citizenship, cast off from his icebreaker sailboat Pangaea (35 meters), moored in front of the Yacht Club of Monaco. He thus set off on his new expedition: “Pole2Pole,” watched by his two daughters, Annika and Jessica, who had accompanied him throughout the project’s preparation.
His challenge: to complete an unprecedented round-the-world trip, passing through both poles (from South to North), in just
two years, alternating between sailing, skiing, kayaking, and off-road 4×4 driving… On Friday, May 6, his friend H.S.H. Prince Albert II, with whom he had completed his 2009 crossing of Antarctica by sled and spent two days on touring skis in extreme weather conditions, wanted to come and greet him on his sailboat and offer him all his encouragement.
A tribute from the navigator Philippe Poupon
As Mike prepared to embark on his round-the-world voyage from the South Pole to the North Pole, he was greeted by Philippe Poupon and his family, who were arriving in Port Hercule. For the past seven years, the family crew has sailed over 120,000 km between the North and South Poles, from the Arctic to the Antarctic, via Alaska and Polynesia, aboard Fleur Australe. This 20-meter polar expedition sailboat was designed by Philippe Poupon himself. An extraordinary journey for a better understanding of our planet.
sources: AMP