12.12.2002 00:00 Fedor Konyukhov Turns 51

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On December 12th, Fedor Konyukhov turned 51 years old. He planned on celebrating his birthday in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, but instead he celebrated it in Barbados where 12 days ago he arrived on his “URALAZ” rowboat, making a new world record for a solo crossing of the ocean on a rowboat at 46 days, 4 hours.

Before the start his wife, Irina, prepared and placed presents on the boat while still in the Canary Islands: for his birthday, for New Year’s, and for the Russian Orthodox Christmas (January 7th). However, Fedor arrived before ALL of these holidays and now he can unwrap all of his gifts all at once. Fedor celebrated his birthday with a dinner with the Minister of Tourism of Barbados who noted that Fedor Konyukhov’s arrival to Barbados attracted the attention of the Russian mass media to this island, which is a good advertisement for this resort area surviving on tourism. Because of the excellent relations with the Minister of Tourism, free-of-charge transportation to check out the island and there were press conferences for the local press and a live broadcast on the most popular television show “Good Morning Barbados!” as well as broadcasts over the local radio stations. It was planned that the two weeks following the finish would be spent with rest and relaxation; however, the time spent on the island is quite dynamic.

Fedor Konyukhov will arrive in Moscow on the 16th of December on the evening flight Barbados-Frankfurt-Moscow. A press conference will be held on December 18th in the ITAR-TASS building where not only the completion of the crossing will be presented, but also the next three major expeditions up to 2005.

· Crossing the Antarctic on an ice-boat (a trimaran on skis) starting from the Northwestern shore, across the South Pole, and on to the opposite shore on the Southeast. The start is planned for November 2003. The ice-boat will be built in England where the “URALAZ” rowboat was built.
· A solo circumnavigation of the world on the 27-meter, dual-masted maxi-yacht, which at one time belonged to the legendary Sir Peter Blake (“Steinlager II”). The goal will be to break the world record of a solo circumnavigation from West to East, which now belongs to the Frenchman Michele Dejvai with a time of 96 days. The start of the circumnavigation is set for November 2004.
· A circumnavigation of the world for the Jules Verne Cup on the maxi-catamaran (formerly the “ENZA New Zealand”), which also at one time belonged to the very same Sir Peter Blake. The Jules Verne Cup is now in the hands of the Frenchman Olivie de Cersazon, who with his crew circumnavigated the globe in 71 days. The start of the circumnavigation on the catamaran is scheduled for November 2005.

Fedor Konyukhov is planning to use the yachts of the New Zealander Sir Peter Blake for both circumnavigations. Fedor had the honor of meeting Sir Peter Blake in New Zealand during the circumnavigation race “Around Alone.”

Besides these main expeditions, there is a race (“Yukon Quest 2003”) planned on a dogsled as well as the continuation of the second stage of the expedition on camels “Along the Great Silk Path.” The caravan will start in the territory of Kalmykia, continue through the territory of Kazakhstan, and finish in China in the province of Xing Jiang where there are over 300,000 ethnic Kalmykians.