This signifies the start of a 10 day selection camp in which our Young Explorers will go through an assessment to see who, of the 15 candidates, will continue further and meet Mike Horn on the third Young Explorer Expedition in Indonesia, in October 2009.

Those chosen to attend the camp are:

Daniel Kotzé, South Africa, 20yrs
Tiffany De Klerk, South Africa, 16yrs
Xiaoxi Wang, China, 16yrs
Dongkyun Seo, South Korea, 20yrs
Hannes Van Eynde, Belgium, 17yrs
Simon Havas, Czech Republic, 15yrs
Kerstin Dörner, Germany, 18yrs
Jose Baz, Lebanon, 20yrs
Hector Prats Castro, Spain, 16yrs
Michelle Nay, Switzerland, 18 yrs
Tim Rohner, Switzerland, 17yrs
Eugénie Guillaume, France, 18yrs
Celestin Garrett, USA, 14yrs
Soledad Escribano, Argentina, 19yrs
Rodrigo Neves Steinman, Brasil, 16yrs.

The future ambassadors of the next generation are ready for an exciting adventure which could well change the course of their life. Follow the chosen Young Explorers from the beginning of their journey in Switzerland until they meet with Mike Horn and the Pangaea sailboat in Indonesia.

These young adults will be given a unique and incredible experience, living and learning about nature, discovering themselves, their companions, the world around them, and how they can actively participate towards a cleaner and better planet.

"During the first two days we had 30-40 knots of wind and then it became calm. For the rest of the voyage we had 15 knots southwesterlies so were getting a great push from behind. We were blessed with amazing sunsets and playful whales close to the boat."

"Now we are in Cairns and will stay for a few weeks. This afternoon we head out to check out the Great barrier Reef. I've heard so much about it – it'll be great to finally see the reefs in real."

"Tomorrow we'll greet some guests and explore the Aussie way of life – inbetween the maintenance work on the winches of course!"

'It was a great trip ' says Mike. 'We hit a storm just after leaving Auckland and were shaken around a little. The winds soon subsided after a few days and the rest of the trip was relatively calm.

It was a great feeling to sail into the harbour and to see the Opera House after only seeing it in the picture books. Myself and the crew are looking forward to discovering this city and to meeting with the Australian population but first things first – for now we need to deal with customs!

The last week has had a jam packed schedule of visits to the boat, from press to school groups, from maintenance to fix-it men, and of course family and relatives of Mike's New Zealand born wife, Cathy.

With the restocking done and Pangaea in ship-shape condition, she left Auckland City at 18h30 last night.

Mike reports, "It was a wonderful time we had in New Zealand and a very successful leg with our Young Explorers trip in the Fiordlands. We are now preparing the YEP Indonesian leg that will take place in October and are currently selecting our next group of Young Explorers who will come to Switzerland for the preselection camp. Times are busy for the team as there are many events to prepare in Australia and in the coming few months as we make our way up the Pacific, Islands, Indonesia and Asia."

"Since we left at 18h30 we have been cruising nicely at 9 knots. Calms seas are expected as we pass over the Northern tip of New Zealand and in about 6 days we'll arrive at our next stop-over point, Sydney."

Mails of thanks have come flooding in to thank Mike and his team for the amazing time and experience that they shared with them.

The Fiordlands offered to all the people present on Pangaea an eye-opener of a trip. The incredible untouched beauty was the perfect learning ground for our Young Explorers. It gave them an appreciation of nature at its purest, and a very good reason why we must fight for preservaton of our planet.

On the 2nd of June Mike decided he would like to see more of New Zealands beauty and so decided to cycle to Mt Cook. The route took him from Milford Sound, over the Routeburn track, through the picturesque villages of Queenstown and Wanaka and over the Lindas Pass. Mike was blown away by the beauty of Central Otago and the snowy peaks of this magestic mountain.

In the meantime, skipper Nick and Pangaea's crew sailed up to Auckland and are now comfortably moored in the Viaduct Harbour in Auckland City.

Here our crew will deal with maintenance and re-stocking prior to her departure on the 18th and Mike will be available to speak with members of the press and school groups.

Mike calls at 0700hrs GMT. "It's been good going until now! The seas have been pretty rough with strong winds and high swells, but this is very typical of the Southern Ocean.

We are now at 54°22'S and 115°36' E, just 680nm from Antarctica and 2'100nm from New Zealand! We passed an iceberg today so must remain vigilent. We have two people on watch at all times. Tonight we are expecting a storm to pass, perhaps within the next few hours so have our storm sail up and are ready. We hope it will pass over quickly and expect the strong southwesterlies to push us north and closer to our destination.

Won't be too long before we arrive in New Zealand! Dunedin will be our first port of call and and a welcome rest for the Pangaea team."

All the best!

“We were happy to arrive safely at Kergelen Island,” says Mike. “The last few days of sailing were extremely rough. We now have first hand experience of the 'Screaming 50’s', as we experienced our first force 12 storm, rolling breakers and gales of 56 knots! It was quite something but Pangaea and her team coped very well.”

“The scientists and researchers staying at Kergeulen gave us a warm welcome and have been extremely helpful. Pangaea had a few minor problems caused by the storm but they helped us make the necessary repairs of which we are very grateful.”

“After a good sleep we will head off again and are expecting another rough trip through to New Zealand. With strong southeasterlies pushing us through we expect to arrive in about 15 days.”

Mike reports, " We are moving 30° downwind and are protecting ourselves from huge breaking waves. For the last 11 hours Pangaea has been obliged to run with the wind. All sails are down and our speed is 9-10 knots.. The winds are coming from the NE at 56 knots!! We are hoping that in a few hours we can get in the lee of the island and protect ourselves from the storm. It's tough going but Pangaa and her crew are coping well.

Will send you more news from Kerguelen!".

One of 20 small, mountainous islands of French territory situated South in the Indian Ocean (S 46°25' E 05° 152'). The island is uninhabited except for a scientific base and it's staff.

Mike and his crew received a very warm greeting from the personnel at Crozet Island. They also welcomed the opportunity to come to shore and discover this barren rocky island, home of penguins, seals, King Penguins and other amazing wildlife.

The stop-over came at an appropriate time. Gales where picking up and it was the perfect opportunity to shelter and rest for two days before tackling the open ocean again.

Pangaea will leave Crozet today and is expected to arrive at the Kerguelen Islands in three days time. After that, the long haul to New Zealand and the exploration of new regions will begin.