In March 1999, Amyr Klink, a Brazilian yachtsman and polar adventurer, became the first man to circle Antarctica while staying south of 50 degrees latitude. He the most dangerous sea route in the world. Klink was already widely known because in 1984 he had rowed across the Atlantic in a small boat. The book which he wrote, based on his on that trip, had by then sold millions of copies.
For his polar adventure, Klink built his boat. He set off in 1998 from South Georgia and he arrived back there 88 days later – although he eleven of those days on dry land in Antarctica. He did not stop there out of necessity, but because he wanted to see the Antarctic Peninsula. Klink knew that his would be dangerous. On the way, he had to be careful to avoid huge floating blocks of ice. These icebergs, as they are called, were everywhere and one of them would have been a disaster. As Klink knew that any rescue mission would have been impossible in the rough seas, he did not bother to take a lite boat.
When he sailed into winds 750 miles south of Tasmania, he met waves that were twenty-five metres high. This meant staying awake most of the time. He only managed to sleep for twenty-minute periods at a stretch. But he succeeded in the end, all the difficulties that he had to face.