Polish crew sets new record for furthest south ever sailed by a yacht

by Andrew Dare on 13 Feb 2015 At 20.29 UTC, Captian Piotr Kuzniar, & his 10 man polish crew onboard the 67 foot yacht Selma, reached the edge of the ice in the Ross Sea, at 78,43.S in the Bay of Whales, just over 100 nautical miles farther south then the previous record.

The previous record was set by the second polish sailing yacht, Katharsis II, with a crew of Russians and Ukrainians, sailing the 30m sailing yacht 'Scorpius' and reaching 77 degrees South in 2012.

There was some discussion regarding this in 2012, depending if you include a dinghy as a yacht. In 1965, Lt. Commander Steve Cockley, based in McMurdo Sound, sailed a Moth in a 30m gap in the sea ice & a latitude of 77.50 South - some 50 miles more than Scorpius - although, obviously he did not sail it to the continent.

Either way, Selma has reached a new record South, Kuzniar and his crew are now preparing to climb the ice wall to reach the top of the glacier.

Southernmost position reached: 78°43’926S 163°40’957'W

http://www.selmaexpeditions.com/en/newsy.php