On November 20, what will be the most outstanding adventure of the year begins: the Antarctic Expedition alone . 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) a sailing 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 conditions of wind and temperature.
The risky route can be followed live at www.antoniodelarosa.net and will begin with the crossing of Cape Horn and the Drake Strait to Antarctica. “The objective of this polar adventure, explains de la Rosa,“ 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 ”, he concludes.
In addition to the aforementioned difficulties of 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 on his arrival in Antarctica. . We are talking about avoiding collisions with floating icebergs , which could open a waterway in the boat and be careful with the possible 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 success or failure of the expedition. The adventurer will have freeze-dried food, which only needs hot water to hydrate. It will also carry natural foods like American pistachios , which contain complete proteins and a good nutritional profile, do not require 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.
