Yacht Type/Size For Trip to Antarctica?

Experience and good luck...

1) For starters, an ice-class hull. From there, safety is an undefined quantity dependent on the skill and judgement of the crew, and then a lot of other factors like time of year and where exactly you want to go on this journey. If you stay far enough north and choose mid to late summer, probably not as demanding on the vessel and crew.

Comfort is relative.

Yesterday I was in contact with a friend who is down there now, here are a couple of his pictures...

Skip Novak has probably spent more time sailing in Antarctica than any other man alive. I would listen to his opinion closely.

http://www.pelagic.co.uk/over_overview.asp

For those who want to get icy in a motorboat, get a Gardner LXB.

http://www.yachtingworld.com/extrao...d-cowper-purpose-built-aluminium-vessel-94424

Perhaps a few insights:

We went there in Feb-March 2016, but on a small cruise ship (Ponant's Le Lyrial - 180 passengers). We left from Ushuaia at the south end of Argentina and went only to the Antarctic Peninsula. The Drake passage served up about 6m confused seas, but not really too bad in a 144m stabilised ship. We approached the antarctic circle, but did not cross. Impressions: Absolutely awesome and would encourage anyone to do it if you can. The scenery is breathtaking. The animals will provide hours of amusement.

But things to consider: The ship is ice classed, and there are some really big icebergs around and lots of smaller bergy bits and growlers. I don't think the ship every actually anchored anywhere, so that it could easily move out of the way of something big bearing down. Sailing at night with massive floodlights on was the norm. We typically went out on Zodiac's every day, for about 2-3 hours at a stretch. As it was late summer, the weather was not too bad - mostly wind chill rather than low temperatures. Lowest was perhaps around -5 (C). However, the skipper kept telling us how lucky we were with the weather. Whenever we went ashore, the crew had a full survival kit in case the weather moved in and we ended up being stuck on the beach. The cruise company also supplied parkas which we got to keep and boots. Otherwise, waterproof pants, beanies, gloves, etc. were needed. But normally, we returned back to a nice warm ship with lots of French food and wine. Not too hard to take at all. We are in our 60's and in not too bad shape, but we did get a good workout some days.

Would I do it again - yes, at the drop of a hat. Would I do it on a small boat - absolutely not. Whilst perhaps we got lucky, mother nature down there can be very unforgiving and unpredictable. There are some slightly smaller Russian trawler conversions sailing down there with 50 or so passengers. I know one couple who has done it that way and enjoyed it, but the ship rolls like a pig in a any sea. They went in November and the weather was awful half of the time.

On the way back, we stopped of at South Georgia Islands. Another unforgettable experience.

Thanks for that link too. I would like to see the entire Polar Bound vessel, inside and out !

Found this though....

https://www.google.com/search?q=ves...AhWms1kKHYz3CXoQ9QEIZDAI#imgrc=lG4sXwtN49pRpM: