Quark Expeditions recalls 88 year old who did the 'polar plunge'

Those heading to the southernmost continent with Quark Expeditions won’t find themselves sailing with any ancient mariners but will realize that passengers needn’t have found the fountain of youth to venture to Antarctica with the expedition cruise company.

Taylor Hess, Quark’s area sales director for the Western United States and Latin America, told a recent webinar that Quark passengers can’t be younger than eight to sail with the “perfectly polar” company — a term that references its only offering the Arctic and Antarctica — but there is no maximum age, recalling a “polar plunge with an 88-year-old man from Colorado.”

Polar plunge is the term used to describe adventurous passengers being invited to jump into frigid Arctic or Antarctic waters under the supervision of staff with the Seattle-based company.

Hess said the November-March period is the ideal time to sail to Antarctica, with long nights during the rest of the year limiting what passengers can see.

He views February and March as particularly attractive months, with the visited Antarctic Peninsula — a region of mountains, marine mammals and “dramatic landscapes” — seeing “breathtaking sunsets” that may last several hours at that time of year.

The November-March season provides plenty of wildlife viewing, he continued, with sightings of penguins, whales, migratory birds — among them petrels and albatrosses — and massive leopard seals readily available.

Available excursions include kayaking jaunts that can have the kayakers pass leopard seals, which may weigh 1,200 pounds.

The intensity of the sun at that time of year leads to icebergs calving, and “turns icebergs into works of art,” Quark states.

Quark has options for people wanting to reach Antarctica, including sailing from Ushuaia, Argentina — South America’s southernmost city — across the Drake Passage to the White Continent, with Hess noting the passage has a reputation for having rough water, although that hasn’t been what he personally experienced.

Passengers can also fly from Punta Arenas, Chile, to Antarctica, a two-hour trip that contrasts to the around two days it takes to sail the Drake Passage.

Among Quark options is the 11- or 12-day Antarctic Explorer: Discovering the 7th Continent, a showcase for what Hess labelled the “frozen continent.”

But the expedition company also sends people to nearby islands, including South Georgia, best known for being visited by British explorer Ernest Shackleton, who died on the island and is buried there.

South Georgia has “birdlife everywhere,” with one beach home to 400,000 penguins, Hess reported.

The Falklands/Malvinas Islands also have large bird populations and recall the war between Argentina and Britain over ownership of the islands.

Quark has a choice of vessels, including the 138-passenger Ocean Explorer, a luxury vessel which has suites that offer balconies. Facilities include a gym.

The flagship Ultramarine can carry 199 passengers and features the likes of bathrooms with heated floors, a spa and it can carry two helicopters that can be used for sightseeing.

The onboard atmosphere on the three Quark vessels is casual, with passengers able to go to “dinner wearing a hoodie and hiking pants,” Hess said.

All the Quark vessels are limited to fewer than 200 passengers, which serves the company well in the regulated Antarctica environment, where, for instance, ships of 500 or more passengers are forbidden from having landings.

Hess said Quark rates include the likes of camping overnight in Antarctica for those wanting to make their trip particularly adventurous, hiking and kayaking,

Quark also can send people to this country’s Arctic, Greenland and Svalbard, Norway, which Hess reported as the highest concentration of polar bears anywhere.

Travel agent rates for agents wanting to experience the destination are available. More information can be found at quarkexpeditions.com/partners.