Boating New Zealand - July 2018

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better because they don’t absorb as much water, they still

froze and it’s very diicult to work with solid lines. Some

of the instruments were also afected – including the

anemometer. So you don’t really have an accurate grasp of

the wind’s strength. he dial might show 25 knots – but it’s

actually blowing 40 knots.

“We weathered 18 storms during the trip. Fortunately,

the Oyster is an excellent heavy-weather vessel. In 50-60

knots she is very happy with a fourth reef in the main –

that’s about the size of a trysail – and a well-reefed staysail.”

Still, for all the hardship, says Koper, Antarctica is one

of the most majestic parts of the planet – “it’s diicult to

describe the silence, the grandeur, the clarity of the colours

on a sunny day, the raw power of the elements. Sailing

among the whales is a wonderful experience, and the

birdlife is sublime.”

RESEARCH

While the record-breaking circumnavigation was the

prime focus, Koper also used the voyage to participate

in two oceanographic projects. One was deploying three

sophisticated buoys which will collect various types of data

over the next few years; the other collecting water samples

for monitoring the presence of micro-plastic particles.

“We were keen to do something to help with research into

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