The Snow Petrel voyage is remarkable on so many counts. A voyage south from Tasmania to Cape Denison in remote East Antarctica is a feat in itself. Only a handful of large funded expedition-equipped yachts have ever been successful. None have achieved it since Snow Petrel’s epic 2006 trip.
Cape Denison is home to the historic Mawson’s Huts, and is statistically the windiest place in the world with 286 days of force 9 gales or higher, and winds regularly exceeding 100 knots.
Snow Petrel is a basic back-yard built steel Roberts 34, modified by Ben Tucker to cope with extreme wind and cold. His budget did not even stretch to a second-hand radar. Most equipment was borrowed. His 21 year-old brother was crew, and his father Jon was only allowed to join them on a promise of good behaviour.
The whole story is told with humour and detail by Jon Tucker in the book and audiobook of the same name (see the ‘books’ link above). It also comes to life in a record-breaking DVD by Matt Tucker, sharing the fun times as well as the challenges in a stunning visual treat (previewed in a short video clip here). Snow Petrel Down Under can now be viewed on youtube: PART 1 here PART 2 here and PART 3 here. A Hi-Res DVD is also available for sale on line from here (priced in $NZ)
Ben’s brother Dan now owns Snow Petrel (renamed Honu and repainted in our Black Fleet colours), and Ben is re-fitting a 40 ft aluminium ex-racer, Snow Petrel II.
For further details check out Ben’s blog site ( click here )