Sail to the Antartica with Milo Dahlmann

”Small boat – small problems. Big boat – big problems”

This is how Milo Dahlmann begins her lecture about her adventurous voyage to the Antarctica. According to her, you do not need a big boat for long distance sailes, which means that more may be able to realize their dream.

She starts by asking us how common it is for people give up before they have even begun. The worst that can happen is that thing will go wrong, and when things go wrong, we learn from it. Milos adventure began back in 1997. Unfortunately, she had to cancel the voyage before she reached her dream destination – Antarctica. But shame on giving up! In 2009, she set sail again, this time with a special designed boat made of steel.

”Bad weather is always better in deep water than in shallow!”

The voyage went across the Atlantic and through Patagonia. Milo describes Patagonia similar to the Stockholm archipelago, but rainier and windier. With about 3 meters of rain per season and summers that does not get warmer than 10 degrees celsius, one can understand why not too many people live in the region. We learned that it is not possible sailing the same way we are used to here in Sweden, in Patagonia the barometer is the most effective way to predict the weather where shifts come quickly and often. One thing she pushed for during the entire lecture was the value of bringing lots of rope. Artemisia IIcarried at least 350 meters rope, and yet Milo sometimes wished that she had brought more.

Towards the land of the penguins:

It was obvious that Milo is very fascinated by the penguins at the Antarctica. So fascinated that she named the book she wrote of the voyage ”Towards the land of the penguins”. We bought a copy and are absolutely certain there will lots of great tips we can use for Expedition: Lofoten. If Milo is as good at writing as lecturing, I feel confident the book will be super interesting.

Something that amazed us and had never crossed our minds is the fact that Antarctica is meteorologically seen as desert. The pole only recieve precipitation every 2-3 years. The precipitation that comes should always be snow, but on Milos trip it rained for four days straight. It’s scary to think about the fact that a continent that is considered a desert, with winters that get as cold as -80C, had four days of rain! We got an extra eye-opener of the meaning of human impact on earth. Milo talked a lot about the climate threat. Just like us, she believes that it is in our hands to do something about climate change. Everything we do, at all times, is important. The sooner we realize this the better our chances are, so that future generations get the same opportunities as us.

”It’s such a short time for us to act. If not for anything else then do it for the penguins!”

We were incredibly inspired by Milo. If she can sail across the Atlantic and all the way to Antarctica by herself we should be able to follow the Norwegian coast up to Lofoten. One thing I particullary liked with Milo is the fact that the climate issue is very important to her. So for those of you who are thinking of doing a long haul sail, or just need a little extra motivation I can really recommend her lectures.