Thank You -

Many thanks for your support:

Thanks to Arne Gudde from LANGSAMREISEN for the support in finding fellow sailors.

Anyone dreaming of other travel destinations after Sailing SOUTH 2024: Arne offers selected cargo ship, other ship, rail and sailing trips worldwide for friends of slow and sustainable travel.

Thanks to Sönke Roever and his team from Blauwasser.de for publishing my expedition on the website.

Thanks to Birgitz Lutz for sharing my search for team mates.

Birgit, herself infected with the arctic virus for years, often traveling in the Arctic and to the North Pole or walking across Greenland across the ice cap, has written a few books that are well worth reading.

Thanks to Belinda Kirk from Explorers Connect, a non-profit organisation connecting people to adventure.

Thanks to Rolf Stange from spitzbergen.de for the nice post on his page and for sharing my search for fellow sailors.

Incidentally, Rolf with his website spitzbergen.de is a real polar institution and feels like an all-knowing authority on all topics related to the Arctic archipelago and far beyond. His Spitsbergen travel guide, for example (always in my luggage on all my trips there and not without reason called the “Bible” among us) is much more than just a travel guide and, in my opinion, by far the best and, in the best sense, most comprehensive book, what on the market about Svalbard, its regions, its nature, history and culture. I therefore warmly recommend spitzbergen.de to all those interested in the Arctic and Arctic travelers – whether before, during or after an actual trip or just in your head: Here you will find countless information, regional studies and tips, other books, current news or travel reports from the North, as well as numerous great photos, image galleries, 360° panoramas and videos that allow you to visually travel to many places of this beautiful archipelago. And all this first-hand from someone who really knows what he is talking about from decades of personal experience. By the way, the appropriate counterpoint – in the truest sense of the word – is the associated Antarctic page https://www.antarktis.net/

Thanks to Marcus and Judith Grahl, the specialists in travel to the Arctic and Antarctic of polar-schiffsreisen.de, for whose website I was allowed to write a blog post about Sailing SOUTH 2024.

Polar-Schiffsreisen is a separate brand of Leguan Reisen for trips by ship to the cold zones. All those who find our ship too small or not comfortable enough, our expedition too daring or our journey too long may find an alternative here.

I would also like to thank the following for their support:

Tina Uebel for her inspiring books in unrivalled style, understanding of polar obsessions and support in finding other polar enthusiasts for this adventure;

Solange Grinberg and Darrel Day from Spirits of Sydney for their openness and warm support;

Claudia and Jürgen Kirchberger from fortgeblasen for all the material passed on from sailor to sailor about anchorages and bays in Antarctic waters;

Kerstin Langenberger for a wonderful and warm conversation about South Georgia, Arctic and Antarctic dreams and travelling in times of climate change. Kerstin is a wonderful photographer and gives impressive, inspiring talks that are well worth attending;

Florian König from Picos and seilsache for support with high altitude equipment and gear;

Tina O’Brien from Safe Passage International for patient advice and help with the right expedition insurance;

Thomas Ulrich in the same matter, as well as for further tips and inspiration from his own adventures;

Jan Bigos from walkonthewildside for advice on equipment;

Cliff Wedgbury from Cork, Ireland, who sent me his song and autobiographical “Ballad of Ernest Shackleton“, published with the album “Antarctic Ballads” in March 2022;

Scotty Johnson from explorewhatmatters for the enriching exchange – too bad you can’t be part of the expedition!

My best friend Grit for her good advice and friendly medical support, especially the well-stocked first-aid kit, which I hope – following her and my wishes – will find its way back completely unused;

Tom, a good friend who will be holding down the fort here during our trip to the other side of the world and will be our digital connection and mouthpiece: thanks to him, there will be news from Sailing SOUTH here and on Instagram from time to time.

Thanks to my friend Uwe: with him and his SV Perithia, I have sailed some nautical miles in the Arctic over the years, explored remote coasts and traces of old explorers, circumnavigated icebergs, shared dreams, gained experience and got to know and to love sailing in the high latitudes;

Thanks to Wolf Kloss and Jeannete from simexpeditions for the joint start and the initial planning. In the end everything turned out differently, but every door that closes also opens a new one, in this case the happy encounter with Kris and Piotr from Selma Expeditions, in whom I found the perfect partner for Sailing SOUTH 2024. I hope to see you and the Santa Maria Australis in Antarctica.

Thanks to the many people – known and unknown from all corners of the world – who responded enthusiastically to the idea and the project and simply shared their joy, sympathy, respect, their own dreams or experiences or offered their support.

Thanks to the entire Sailing SOUTH team, my crew, who responded to the “Wanted” call a good year and a half ago – for your great enthusiasm, your courage, your trust, your patience and your perseverance on the long journey … and for the fact that with you my idea could become our common adventure.

Thanks to Selma Expeditions – Piotr, Kris, Malgorzata and Wojtek – for your trust, your openness, your enthusiasm and warmth; for believing in the project and in me from the very first moment; for your willingness to dream this dream with me and realise it together and as equals.

Above all, I am very grateful to my family for always letting me set sail and go out into the world, supporting me and giving me the freedom to live such dreams.