MOSCOW, March 24. /TASS/. Russian voyager and survivalist Fyodor Konyukhov, who is now performing a solo round-the-world rowboat journey, was caught in a severe storm off the coast of South America on Saturday, his wife Irina has told TASS.

The voyager’s friend Vadim Tsyganov earlier told the Komsomolskaya Pravda radio station that Konyukhov’s life was in real danger. Irina Konyukhova confirmed the information to TASS, saying that her husband was caught in "a severe storm, bordering on a hurricane."

"We send each other messages every hour via the BySky system. He is now lying in the boat, attached to it. There is a severe storm, bordering on a hurricane, but everything is OK so far. He is alive and in good health, his boat sustained no damage, but the waves there are, of course, huge," she said.

According to Irina Konyukhova, the storm would last until Sunday.

"This is probably the most difficult and dangerous moment in his entire journey," she added. "He sends brief messages to me every hour, like "everything is fine." The last message said that the storm continues and the waves are huge."

Konyukhov’s journey

The Russian voyager began his solo circumnavigation on board the Akros rowboat on December 6, leaving the New Zealand port of Dunedin. Since the start of the voyage, Konyukhov has spent more than 100 days in the ocean and covered over 8,000 km.

The circumnavigator’s route is divided into three stages: Dunedin (New Zealand) - Cape Horn (Chile), Cape Horn (Chile) - Cape Leeuwin (Austalia), and Cape Leeuwin (Austalia) - Dunedin. Konyukhov will have to row 27,000 km in total.

British boat designer Phil Morrison created Konyukhov’s AKROS vessel exclusively for the expedition. The nine-meter rowboat 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.

Konyukhov has already performed five round-the-world journeys, crossed the Atlantic 17 times and became the first Russian who reached the seven highest peaks in the six parts of the world, as well as the South and North Poles. In 2007, Konyukhov already went around the Southern Hemisphere onboard the sailing boat Alye Parusa (Crimson Sails) through the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.