Odyssey of AION · Polar sailing expedition
Sailing circumnavigation of Antarctica.
ARION, a 47-foot aluminium expedition yacht. Two sailors, 38,000 miles, a loop held below the 60th parallel.
The frame
Roaring Forties to Screaming Sixties:
from Cape Horn to Antarctica
ARION leaves Marseille for the Canaries, crosses the Atlantic, then heads south along the Argentine coast. The Drake Passage isn't forced, it's accepted: a low passing through, a trough running ahead, and the bow takes the last step to the South Shetland Islands, where the circumnavigation's starting line opens, near 63°S. Between the two, the sea changes character three times. In the Roaring Forties, the westerlies set in, the swell lengthens, the shipboard routine settles. In the Furious Fifties, the lows pack tighter: cross seas, first sleet squalls, barometer read hourly. In the Screaming Sixties, only a few islands lie between the 60th parallel and the continent; the cold sets in, spray freezes on the topsides, nothing dries. No port, no relay, few recovery windows. The sea decides.
Route
The Antarctic loop, maintained below 60°S.
The Furious Fifties are already a zone few sailors cross: wind that won't drop, lows in series, sleeping in foul-weather gear. Below the 60th parallel, ice and isolation are added. Icebergs and growlers to watch day and night, icing in the rig, rescue several days away. The loop is held below 60°S from end to end, by two sailors, under the French flag. The method comes down to one thing: lasting.
See the full route
Crew
Two sailors, two trades.
On board, the stations are shared: watches, nav, weather, manoeuvres, upkeep. Medicine on one side and marine biology on the other come in addition.
Shore support
Shore support.
Preparation, sea trials, logistics, relays: a shore structure organizes what must be ready before departure, and maintains a support line when communications allow.
Along the 60th parallel,
the ocean circles the globe without touching land.
Onboard science
A territory with no human owner.
Cetaceans, bioacoustics, oceanography. Continuous, time-stamped, geolocated and contextualized series. Data open to partner laboratories and institutions.
AION Data HubLogbook
From the deck.
Preparation, technique, navigation. Logbook notes and in-depth files.
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