It all began with a promise
It all comes down to one word, Lifexplorer: what a wonderful promise, with its many possible translations, that the name of this boat offers! Delivered in April 2017, Lifexplorer is a Garcia Exploration 52 whose owner, Alberto, originally from northern Italy, acquired it to be able to carry out on board a sailing program with family and friends, aiming to reach high latitudes. Alberto previously owned "Onelife", a Super Maramu from the Amel shipyard in La Rochelle, which he entered with friends in the prestigious Sydney Hobart race in 2010, and aboard which he describes on his blog having had, between 2005 and 2016, "important experiences around the world, crossing oceans, straits, atolls, winning unexpected victories and sharing real-life moments". But "we had to turn the page", as he soberly writes on these pages, accessible at lifexplorer.navy.
A well-defined program, and the boat to carry it out
So it was with the Garcia Exploration 52 that Alberto found the concept of a blue water cruising sailboat likely to accompany him in his dreams of sailing in circumpolar zones. The "Lifexplorer 2016-2026" project takes shape. Involving the same group of friends and family, led by Alberto, it consists of a 30 to 120-day-a-year sailing program that can be summed up in two major chapters, stated as simply as a child's finger on a planisphere: first the high latitudes of the north, then those of the south. Needless to say, halfway through the "Lifexplorer 2016-2026" project, this promise has so far been fully respected: a matter of conviction and a desire to follow his dreams to the end for Alberto, who readily refers to the golden years of polar exploration and aims for destinations worthy of a Shackleton, an Amundsen or a Nobile.
With its sturdy aluminium hull , well-insulated hull, long range and the ability to carry food, equipment, water and fuel for long voyages, the Garcia Exploration 52 combines these features - which make it a sought-after model for those who enjoy sailing in remote areas - with the ability to cover miles with regularity and reach areas that are considered inaccessible to the average sailboat.
What's more, offering its crew a level of interior comfort and protection that is no longer a luxury when weather conditions turn any desire to breathe the outside air into a challenge, the Garcia Exploration 52 represents a well-considered choice for the most committed sailors. It's hardly surprising that Alberto's preference for a solid, welcoming 50 to 55-foot offshore cruiser was for this sturdy centreboarder with double rudders, which he discovered at the Boot in Düsseldorf in January 2016.
From the English Channel to the icy Arctic Ocean via the Irish Sea
Setting out from Cherbourg, and then officially inaugurated in June 2017 in the fishing village of Howth near Dublin, Lifexplorer will then cross the Irish Sea to Inverness (Scotland), and then head north in mid-July 2017 towards the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard. There, he will reach the small town of Longyearbyen, located on the island of Svalbard at 78° N latitude, well beyond the Arctic Circle at 66° 33' N. It's very tempting, once you're "so high up" on the globe, to reach the north of the Svalbard archipelago to cross 80°N, and thus trace a few miles into the famous Arctic Ocean. It has to be said that the almost permanent daylight up there at this time of year makes it much easier to navigate by sight around the sometimes haphazardly mapped land. This mythical latitude was crossed a few days later, on July 16 to be precise, with a photo of the B&G chartplotter screen. This led Lifexplorer to brush up against its first ice cubes, and its crew to observe a polar bear at close quarters the following day: strong impressions and lasting memories guaranteed!
With their progress sometimes slowed by drifting portions of the ice pack, the crew of theExploration 52 take the opportunity to observe the fauna of Svalbard: reindeer, walruses, puffins and other great skuas allow themselves to be photographed with varying degrees of grace. After refuelling in Longyearbyen ("Fare cambusa", as Alberto's blog puts it in Italian - the expression is more appetizing to the taste buds than the victuals available in these northern zones), Lifexplorer headed south at the end of July, towards the Lofoten Islands and the Norwegian coast. On the way, the Garcia Exploration 52 stops off at Bear Island, the southernmost island of the Svalbard archipelago. In other words, nothing more than a 175 km2 rock lost at 74°N and 18°E, forming a nature reserve with no human activity other than a modest weather station.
Fast, sometimes bumpy crossings
At the end of July 2017, Lifexplorer reached the Lofoten Islands off Norway at 68°N. The yacht covered 350 miles in 42 hours, in a 25-35 knot northeasterly flow, at an average cruising speed of over 8 knots and with surfs reaching 12 knots, on a Barents Sea that was nevertheless very rough due to a strong contrary current. Discovering the fjords and other sumptuous landscapes of this archipelago gave the crew a respite from the hectic sailing of the previous days. We're already at the beginning of August, and the Arctic autumn is approaching, bringing with it months of darkness and endless storms. After a quick crossing to Bodø and a few days exploring the fjords of this coastal region of central Norway, Lifexplorer reaches Bergen on August 15, then heads for Stavanger. On August 24, she docked in Den Helder, the Netherlands, after a 30-hour crossing at an average speed of 7.7 knots. Alberto and his crew then ferried Lifexplorer across the closed sea of the Ijsselmeer to Hoorn, where they took part first-hand in rescue training exercises carried out by a helicopter from the Royal Netherlands Air Force's Search and Rescue (SAR) unit. It was an impressive moment, rich in memories, especially for Matteo, the youngest crew member on board, to whom the rescuers offered to try out a heli-towing maneuver to perfect their preparation! A few days later, Lifexplorer took part under the colors of Garcia Yachts at the Amsterdam boat show, before returning to Cherbourg, where the boat will be wintered by the shipyard. A well-deserved respite for all concerned, after three months of adventure at sea.
First major milestone reached
In his blog, Alberto notes:
"The first major stage of our project has been completed: the High North Latitudes phase, with a test of no less than 5000 nautical miles, with few problems and great satisfaction at having achieved all the exciting objectives, with performance and comfort matching expectations. Impressive is the size of the geographical area covered, from 48°51' to 80°02' North, and from 6° West (Dublin) to 19° East (Bear Island)."
We'll be joining Alberto and his friends on board Lifexplorer in the near future to talk about the southern part of the "Lifexplorer 2016-2026" program towards Patagonia and the Antarctic Peninsula, and in the meantime we hope to have some fresh news from the crew who, on January 10, 2022, were sailing at 62°S off the South Shetland Islands. Just when we were talking about high latitudes!
See images of the Lifexplorer crew at http://www.lifexplorer.navy/.
