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The daughters of Amyr Klink are pioneers of Opti sailing in Antarctica!!

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opti in Antarctica

The daughters of Amyr Klink are pioneers of Opti sailing in Antarctica!!

The following is an extract of an article published in Murillo Novaes' blog: Coluna do Murillo.

Our dear friend (and long time sailor) Marina Bandeira Klink, the wife of Amyr *, prepared a surprise that can surely be the envy of any sailor parent. She bought an Optimist for her daughters, who sailed it for the first time in a very special place... the Antarctic!!

"I took a present for my daughters and gave it to them at Marguerite Bay **(Southernmost point of the Antarctic Peninsula). I gave them an Optimist and yes!, they sailed Opti in Marguerite Bay!!", said the proud super-mom of the three super powerful sailors.

You know: the family that sails together remains united!!

When we (IODA) asked for permission to publish the article and the photo, Marina herself took time to write a few lines about the adventure, and sent us another photo. Thanks Marina!!

menina na Antarctida!! :)

Our family holiday trip was wonderful. They were forty days of enchantment, of which each second was worth being lived. Everything was perfect... and there are so many stories to tell...

Like myself at their age, my three daughters (twins Tamara and Laura, 12 years old; and Marininha, 9 years old) had just started sailing Optimist at the Guarapiranga Dam, near São Paulo.

I remember when Sibylle talked to my parents and convinced them to get an Optimist for my older brother. That was the time when the first sailing course was run at the Yacht Club Santo Amaro (YCSA), in 1972.

I got my Optimist the following year, in 1973, and took the course at the Yate Clube Paulista, with Miriam Santiago as the instructor.

Many years have gone by since then... but knowing what a transforming experience learning to sail at a young age can be, I decided that the moment had come for my daughters to receive their first Optimist. I managed to take one, hidden from the girls, and gave it as a surprise to them at Marguerite Bay, at the Southernmost point of the Antarctic Peninsula, a place reached by only a few boats.

It was exiting to see them sailing their Optimist in the Bay. There it was, taming the icy waters: an Optimist with a Brazilian sailnumber and the burgee of the YCSA on the aft transom, sailing in the middle of the icebergs.

No other Optimist has been so far!!

Our boat had set sails in Guarujá, on the 24th of December, with enough fuel, water and food so that no supplies are needed for 2 years. (In 1990 my husband Amyr spent a winter at the same place in the Antarctic and is aware of the difficulties). On the trip to the Antarctic Peninsula, the boat did only one stop in Puerto Williams, to pick us up (my daughters and me). We had gone to the Patagonia by plane, so that the girls were spared 12 days of sailing.

We are now back in Brazil but our saiboat Paratii 2 and a crew are still in the Antarctic Peninsula. We will go there and bring them back after the winter.

Marina Bandeira


* Amyr Klink is a Brazilian sailor who has taken part in different projects connected with exploration and endurance. To name a few, in 1989 he embarked on the project "Winter in Antarctica", which included sailing solo on his boat Paratii the 27000 miles separating Antarctica from the Artic. In 1998 the project "Antártica 360" took him around the globe through the most difficult route: surrounding the frozen continent. The trip lasted 79 days in the most temperamental waters in the planet. In 1996 he crossed the Atlantic Ocean on a row boat, trip that earned him an inclusion in the Brazilian edition of the Guiness Book. In 2003/2004 he circumnavigated the South Pole again, this time in 76 days. This trip was the last one of a row of experimental journeys with the purpose of testing new building techniques and every day products made with eco-friendly materials.

Learn more about Amyr Klink and his projects visiting his website: www.amyrklink.com.br/ (In Portuguese!!)

** Marguerite Bay is an extensive bay on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula, which is bounded on the north by Adelaide Island and on the south by Wordie Ice Shelf, George VI Sound and Alexander Island. Islands within the bay include Pourquoi Pas Island, Horseshoe Island and Lagotellerie Island. Marguerite Bay was discovered in 1909 by the French Antarctic Expedition under Dr. Jean-Baptiste Charcot, who named the bay for his wife. Coordinates: 68°30’S 068°30’W.