Antonio de la Rosa begins his great Antarctic adventure
The adventurer will be the first person to cross the 3,000 km from Punta Arenas to South Georgia, alone by rowing, sailing and on skis.
The route, which can be followed live online (www.antoniodelarosa.net), will begin with the crossing of Cape Horn and the Drake Strait to Antarctica.
On November 20, what will be the most outstanding adventure of the year begins: the With the support of American Pistachio Growers, the Spanish adventurer Antonio de la Rosa will try to row from Chile to Antarctica through the Drake Strait to later emulate the polar explorer, Ernest Henry Shackleton and his Endurance Expedition (1914-17) by sail. and on touring skis. It is a route of more than 3,000 km in which de la Rosa will face waves of more than 12 m in height and extreme wind and temperature conditions.
“The objective of this polar adventure is to reach Elephant Island by rowing and then continue to the west coast of South Georgia helped by a small sail as did the Anglo-Irish polar explorer, Ernest Henry Shackleton, more than 100 years ago and end the journey by skiing to the east coast. In total, it will be 3,000 km in the most complicated place on the planet, with hurricane-force winds, 12-meter waves and extreme temperatures that will be my travel companions for 30 or 40 days ”, says Antonio de la Rosa
In addition to strong winds that could reach 150 km / h, the size of the waves and the freezing temperature of the waters, de la Rosa will have to face other possible complications that may occur when he arrives in Antarctica. How to avoid collisions with floating icebergs, which could open a waterway in the boat and be careful with the presence of herds of killer whales, which could break the daggerboard or the rudder and leave you adrift by winds and currents without the ability to maneuver. The idea is to reach Antarctica in mid-December.
Food is a very important factor in the expedition.
He will have freeze-dried food, which only needs hot water to hydrate. Also natural foods such as pistachios, which contain complete proteins and a good nutritional profile, do not need cooking and are biodegradable.
“I trust American pistachios because they are the only dried fruit with complete protein of plant origin, which will provide me with the necessary energy during long hours of rowing and, at the same time, will allow me to combat fatigue and help physical and mental recovery of the body. Well, there will be days I will row between 20 and 22 hours ”, explains de la Rosa.
Antonio de la Rosa in his best moment.
“After more than 12 years of expeditions of varying difficulty and a good sporting career running in the elite of adventure raids all over the world, the best moment in my life has undoubtedly arrived -explains de la Rosa-, both physically and technically and especially psychologically to be able to successfully face a unique polar expedition that combines two facets that I think I master almost perfectly, the cold and the ocean. I am very ambitious and I do not want to miss the opportunity to carry out one of the few authentic expeditions that can be done, at a time when almost everything is conquered ”.
The shells are organic and can be disposed of in the sea maintaining the protection of the oceans, not in vain the ship is called “Ocean defender”.
