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Row your boat gently round the world: Famed Russian traveler sets off to circle globe

Famous Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov has set off on a round-the-world voyage in a rowboat from New Zealand’s port of Dunedin

Fyodor Konyukhov Fedor Konyukhov Expedition Center

Fyodor Konyukhov

© Fedor Konyukhov Expedition Center

SYDNEY, December 6. /TASS/. Famous Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov has set off on a round-the-world voyage in a rowboat from New Zealand’s port of Dunedin, his son and chief of the expedition headquarters Oscar Konyukhov told TASS on Thursday.

The voyage, which had been initially scheduled for November 19, but was postponed several times due to bad weather, will last less than two years and will be wrapped up in New Zealand by 2020.

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The head of the expedition headquarters noted that due to the three-week delay, the voyage is anticipated to end later than scheduled.

"The expedition began at 8:08 p.m. local time (10:08 a.m. Moscow Time) on December 6," Oscar Konyukhov said. After the start, the traveler’s AKROS boat headed east, southeast through the Pacific Ocean to Cape Horn, inaugurating the first and longest stage of the voyage covering more than 5,500 nautical miles (10,100 kilometers). The entire route will be more than 16,000 nautical miles (27,000 kilometers). During the expedition, Konyukhov’s boat will sail through the turbulent waters of the global ocean, known as the Roaring Forties and Furious Fifties.

The round-the-world expedition will have three stages: Dunedin, New Zealand - Cape Horn, Chile; Cape Horn - Cape Leeuwin, Australia; and Cape Leeuwin - Port Dunedin.

Until now, no one has managed to cross the waters of the three oceans surrounding the Antarctic, and circle Cape Horn in a rowboat. In order to break the world record, Konyukhov will have to muscle out some 24,000 strokes per day.

The expedition can be monitored in real-time mode thanks to a satellite tracker installed onboard. The broadcast will be available on the traveler’s website, konyukhov.ru.

Russian traveler Fyodor Konyukhov has made five voyages around the world, crossing the Atlantic 17 times and becoming the first Russian who climbed the seven highest summits in six parts of the world, and also traveled to the North and South Poles. In 2007, Konyukhov circled the Southern Hemisphere in a sailing boat dubbed the ‘Scarlet Sails’ through the waters of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans. The 102-day voyage did not involve port calls.

Briton Phil Morrison designed Konyukhov’s AKROS boat exclusively for the expedition. The nine-meter boat has watertight compartments capable of storing up food and three independent power generation systems, including solar, wind turbine and an innovative EFOY fuel cell power plant. The boat is also equipped with two satellite phones, a satellite tracker and several communication and navigation systems.

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