ODYSSEY OF AION

Antarctic Circumnavigation South of 60°S

Holding a continuous course through the Screaming Sixties, all the way around Antarctica.

South of sixty, the ocean has no escape route. The circumpolar swell meets drifting ice. The sea alone is no longer the only danger — the ice is too. Every mile costs energy, focus, and margin.

Objective: A sailing circumnavigation of Antarctica, maintained continuously south of 60°S.
Crew: Two, experienced in cold seas, capable of maintaining permanent watch in one of the most demanding ocean belts on the planet.
Output: Observe, document and transmit from one of the least-frequented ocean zones in the world.

Explore the odyssey

Start with the meaning of the name, then the platform, the route, the film and the Data Hub. Each page is built as a clear document: precise, verifiable, and directly useful.

AION • austral light

Why AION?

In mythology, Aion embodies Time without measure — the time of the world, not that of men. In the south, the austral summer stretches days without night; the world steps outside the clock. Odyssey of AION was born from that observation.

ARION • platform

The yacht ARION

An expedition yacht built for autonomy: energy, heating, steering, communications. Maintenance access and targeted redundancies to stay manoeuvrable.

Data Hub • context

Data Hub access

Notes, observations, measurements and media, always linked to their context (sea state, weather, moment). Dedicated access for scientists and partners.

Two crew members. Clear roles. Fast decisions.

In polar conditions, efficiency comes from organisation: watches, responsibilities, routines, priorities. The goal is to keep navigation clean and data collection rigorous, without degrading the boat's capability.

The Captain

Route, weather, manoeuvres, systems: making calls and keeping the boat moving.

Responsible for progression: routing, sail choices, reduction strategy, safety and management of critical systems (energy, heating, steering, communications). Decisions are made in direct contact with conditions, with one priority: preserve the margin.

Routing, manoeuvres, risk management
Critical systems, energy, redundancies
Logbook, image and sound in heavy weather

Sarah

Protocols, observations, contextualisation: building comparable data series.

Marine biologist and navigator: full watches, lookout and observations. Off-watch, she structures the collection: protocols, notes, context markers (sea state, weather, position), media archiving and preparation of series for the Data Hub.

Protocols, series, data quality
Observation / acoustics / environment
Co-navigation & watches

Shore support

Preparation, testing, logistics, relay: a shore team organises what must be ready before departure and maintains support when communications allow.

Ingrind

Logistics coordinator

Jeff

Sea trials crew

Amaury

Technical preparation

Meet the team

What we produce

Three main outputs: a documented voyage, structured observations, and a film. The Data Hub brings together data and media with their context.

Navigation

Ship's log, weather decisions, decision points, manoeuvres and incidents. A clear chronology to understand the trajectory and its trade-offs.

Observations

Protocols, series and context notes: sea, weather, situation, position. Comparable observations, ready for analysis and sharing.

Film

A close-quarters documentary: watches, gestures, manoeuvres, repairs. Factual storytelling built in the field.

Data Hub access Contact

Patagonia — the last breath

Documentary extract: before the Drake, before the tilt south. A rhythm settling in, gestures repeating, a threshold approaching.

Watch the extract

Partner with Odyssey of AION

Odyssey of AION is built as a clear dossier: objectives, needs, deliverables and distribution. Partners support the operational capacity of the boat and the production of content and data intended to be shared.

What you fund: boat equipment, energy, safety, communications, logistics
What you receive: field content, experience feedback, visibility, Data Hub access (depending on partnership)
Distribution: film, publications, talks and partner materials

Content: images, logbook, publications
Experience feedback from polar conditions
Data & context via the Data Hub (scientific access)

Become a partner Contact