Andhoey has stowaway but no EPIRB in trip to Antarctic


11:32 PM Sat 28 Jan 2012 GMT
'Nilaya, the steel yacht in which Andhoey is now headed to Antarctica with an alleged stowaway and no EPIRB' .
Tearaway Norwegian adventure sailor Jarle Andhoey has told a Norwegian broadcasting company that he was told by New Zealand officials to leave but didn't know there was still a workman on board. After they left port in a hurry they realised the man was present. He then became an inadvertent stowaway because Andhoey was actually headed for Antarctica with no intention of returning to New Zealand.

Jarle Andhoey and 19-year-old Samuel Massie, the crew member who is to make another attempt with Andhoey to reach the South Pole by quad bike .. .
Andhoey also told Norwegian Broadcasting company NRK the crew had chosen to sail without an emergency beacon on board, as they did not want to put others' lives at risk in the event of an accident, but they would not take any unnecessary risks. This might be an issue for the workman who would not have been it seems party to any discussion on this before departure.

This means there are now five on board instead of four, which, apart from other issues, could raise challenges for provisioning.

Andhoey told NRK that it was a somewhat tricky situation because the man did not have a passport or papers with him, that the presence of the New Zealander on the trip was not part of the plan. It was just a hectic departure.

New Zealand government agencies have been tracking Andhoey, a self-proclaimed Viking, who left Auckland last weekend on 16-metre steel yacht Nilaya.

The boat was spotted in international waters off the coast of Hawke's Bay on Thursday afternoon.

Andhoey said he wanted to reach McMurdo Sound where last February his polar bid ended with the sinking of the yacht Berserk and the deaths of three men who were aboard it.

Andhoey has told Oslo's Vestfold Blad that he wanted to find the remains of the Berserk and the three men. He also wanted to travel to the South Pole by quad bike.

It seems he does not have approval by any Antarctic Treaty nation for his latest trip.

It is also alleged that he also entered New Zealand without declaring he had previously been deported from Canada.

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said they had not been approached for assistance for the alleged Kiwi stowaway.




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