It was around Saturday lunchtime that Pangaea eventually sailed into port and the team have since then been getting her prepared for the next trip through to Buenos Aires.

Pangaea will now head to a boatshed for a few weeks and have some work done while Mike is trekking to the South Pole.

'D day' is getting closer and Mike is anxious to leave!

Easterly winds of 20 – 30 knots and waves of 4-5 meters slowed her down substantially. Finally she has reached the Magellan Strait and by this evening (Friday the 14th) Pangaea, Mike Horn and her crew will arrive safely in Punta Arenas.

The team of the boat phoned the offices in Switzerland this afternoon to report their arrival in the Magellan Strait. The seas were calm and the strong tails winds gave them the opportunity to get the spinnaker sail out. Pangaea is cruising at 12 knots through glorious scenery amongst snowy topped mountain ranges.

Tonight in the late hours Pangaea will arrive in the southermost port of Chile, Punta Arenas. Here the crew will rest for a few days before taking the boat further north to Brasil.

Mike on the otherhand will spend a few days in Punta Arenas and prepare for his trek to the South Pole. He will fly into Patriot Hills on the 27th of November.

Mike is anxious to get started now as waiting is not his preferred pastime!

The next best solution would be for him to scout the Neny Glacier. This too could have been a possible path up to the peninsula plateau.

At the same time Mike has been waiting for a contingency plan that would help him in case of problems while on the peninsula. These are obligations that are laid down by Antarctic authorities and apply to any explorer that wishes to voyage in Antarctica. Unfortunately the offer that Mike received for the contingency plan came at a very high price of US$800'000. It was evident that this option was well out of his reach.

Three factors were pushing Mike to make the decision to return back to the boat and to rethink his planning on how he would get to the Pole. The glacier had many very deep and dangerous crevasses. Gale force winds were lashing the slopes as Mike was doing the scout. And, the very high price for a contingency plan,

Mike's option to return to the boat came at the right time. The winds were picking up and by the time Mike reached the boat, ice was beginning to break up around the coast. With Mike's team members also on the peninsula there was not just himself to get to the boat but three other people and 2 additional sleds!

Mike made an immediate plan. He hooked up the 3 sleds and with everybody onboard he attached his kite. In the gale force winds they returned safely to the boat but just in time! They got onboard Pangaea and a few minutes later the ice screws that were securing the boat were ripped out of their icey hold.

Everybody was safe. The boat was free and skipper Nick and his skilled crew quickly got Pangaea out of the exposed bay and found safe anchorage nearby.

Now, after an amazing month along the peninsula and all these adventures, the boat has slowly started to head back up north with Mike and her crew on board.

Pangaea will return to Punta Arenas and from there Mike will fly later this month to Patriot Hills. It will be from there Mike will start his trek to the Pole.

After 5 days of intense preparation Mike now feels ready to leave.
The excitment mounts within him as he thinks of returning to the all familar environment of the polar regions.
He is looking forward to that overwhelming feeling of being alone amongst the majestic scenery and to the challenges that will affront him each day as he approaches the pole…..

The past days have been very busy for Mike and the team on Pangaea. Mike has been going over every single detail, checking and rechecking the equipment that he will pull along with him on his heavily laden sled.
Maps and thermal clothing are ready. Tool kit and spare parts also. Food, pots, stove, sleeping bag, tent, pharmacy – everything present. Nothing gets forgotten when everything is life dependent!

After a gourmet meal of Etivaz cheese fondue followed with chocolate mousse, a good sleep and a hearty breakfast, Mike bid farewell to the skipper and crew on Pangaea and left just as the morning fog was gradually lifting off the Antarctic coastline.

The weather over the last few days in the Antarctic has been relatively pleasant. The skies have been overcast with only slight winds and temperatures around -7°C during the days and dropping in the evenings to around -17°C. As Mike rises in altitude the temperature will begin to drop. At present the temperature on the pole are about -40°C without wind chill factor, so he's preparing himself for some rather cold times.

Pangaea's crew have not ceased to attend to the boats needs and upkeep. Yesterday they took advantage of the flat ice shelves to lay out the sails and do some repair work to the battens.
All this in the company of inquisitive penguins and seals!!

Our thoughts go with Mike as he starts his first days in the Antarctic and we will keep you posted as to his progress!

The stop-over in New York was everything we expected it to be! Mike and the crew were proud to present Pangaea to their partners, an enthusiastic American public and numerous journalists while docked in the North Cove Marina in Lower Manhattan. The highlight of the stop-over being the sailing trips on the Hudson River, the magnificent weather and the views of the Statue of Liberty and skyscrapers.
After five days, Pangaea set sail once again and is now heading south to Ushuaia via the Panama Canal. Shortly after leaving New York the crew was privileged to be witness of flight procedure testing on a massive aircraft carrier. They said it was an amazing sight.

With slight seas and moderate winds Pangaea and her crew are progressing well. Position today at 15h00 GMT: N33°49′ W074°02.

The stay in Southampton was great. Mike fell under the charm of the Brits and quite a bit of necessary work was undertaken on the boat. But it was time to move on…

Now Mike and his team are heading to New York, the last and final stop-over prior to the boat's descent to Ushuaia, on the southern point of Argentina, and the beginning of 'Pangaea', Mike Horn's four year environmental expedition around the world.
Since leaving England, Pangaea encountered fairly rough conditions at first, and was forced to take a northerly direction. Now she is currently advancing on sail at a speed of 10.9 knots and is situated 630 nautical miles from New York. A tropical storm is expected to come in later today, the 'swing-off' from Hurricane Gustav but the boat and her team shouldn't have any major problems and should arrive safety in Lower Manhattan on the evening of the 2nd of September.

Mike is looking forward to being once again on American territory and divulging his project and passion to the American people.

A change of plans for Pangaea and its crew!! Mike was fortunate to find a workshop for Pangaea just South of London and a Bristish team of experts ready to start work on her straight away. After leaving Brasil almost 4 months ago, Pangaea has already navigated over 10 thousand nautical miles and is now ready for her first revision before starting off on her four year expedition.

Some slight alterations will be made to the interior of the boat, solar panels wil be installed, satellite communications connected, a full motor revision will be done by Mercedes-Benz and an energy consumption survey will also be done by Group E. After a few more weeks the work should be complete and Pangaea will be able to head off, direction the US for a presentation in New York around the beginning of September.

In the early hours of Sunday morning Pangaea arrived back in St Katharine's Dock in the centre of London. It was a fast and pleasant trip back from the icey waters of Greenland.

She will stop in London for a few days before she returns down South to France to have some work completed on the boat.

Around 16h00 on Monday, Mike sailed Pangaea into the small port of Angmassalik on the Eastern coast of Greenland. It was seven days of calm sailing from London and it was only on the last day that the team begin to see their first icebergs. The fog was thick as they approached closer to the port but Pangaea manouvered very well and gradually pushed her way through the accumulated ice with ease. The team are happy to be on land again and to meet with people in such pictureque surroundings.

After a few days in Hamburg, in the 3rd biggest commercial port of Europe, Pangaea left to London. Here she spent the weekend at St Katherine’s dock, close to the famous Tower Bridge and received a lot of interest from passer-bys, who were curious to hear as much as they could about this amazing aluminum sailboat.

Mike Horn made the most of this visit in London to invite a number of his colleges from the ‘Laureus World Sports Awards Academy' on board. Amongst these were Boris Becker, Edwin Moses, Daley Thomson, Mr Rupert, the chairman of the Richemont Group, and his wife Mrs Gaynor Rupert, the god mother of Pangaea.

Today, Mike Horn and his crew leave London for the extraordinary destination of Greenland. For the first time Pangaea will navigate in the icy waters of the Great North.

Mike’s return to Europe will be scheduled in July when Pangaea returns once again to London and then to Lorient where work will be completed before she sets off on her four year expedition.