Stranded yachtsman sets sights on horizon

Guernsey Press and Star, 30 October, 2002

A ROUND-THE-WORLD yachtsman who has been stranded here for several days hopes to set sail later this week.

Adrian Cross (pictured) has embarked on a worldwide adventure to raise awareness of climate change in Antarctica.

Last Saturday, he was forced to make an unscheduled stop in Guernsey after his yacht was damaged in storm-force winds. Within hours of arriving, Gentoo of Antarctica had been lifted out of the water ready for repairs to the leaking stern tube.
 
‘The engine had been removed and the prop shaft and offending tube extracted before the end of the day,’ he wrote in his online journal. ‘Try getting that done in the UK within seven hours of discussing the need to get it sorted.'

Essential spare parts have now arrived in the island from the UK and are in the process of being fitted. ‘The professionalism has been incredible,’ said Mr Cross, who expressed his thanks to staff from Herm Seaway Marine Ltd and the port authority.

When Gentoo is shipshape again, Mr Cross will continue on the first leg of his mission, called Operation Snowbird, to Gibraltar. He decided to embark upon the trip as a result of his experiences in the remotest continent in the world.

In 1999 Mr Cross joined a team of explorers on Mission Antarctica, a five-year project set up to gather more information about the continent’s environmental problems and raise awareness about the findings.

He was subsequently awarded Special Envoy of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation status in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the mission.