Amyr Klink (born 25 September 1955) is a Brazilian explorer, sailor and writer. One of his projects, "Antarctica 360", was circumnavigating the

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

continent on his own, in 88 days between 1998 and 1999.

Career

Amyr Klink was the first person to row across the

South Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, leaving from

Lüderitz Lüderitz is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It lies on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island. The town is known for its colonial architecture, includi ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

on 10 June 1984 and arriving 100 days later in Salvador, Brazil, on 18 September 1984. He embarked on this journey without telling his father. His chronicles ''100 Days Between Sea and Sky'' reports on the journey. The food portions in this trip were compacted into packages of freeze-dried food, especially designed for him by a food processing company in Brazil. Disney acquired the rights to make a film based on the events of Klink's journey. The film will be directed by

Carlos Saldanha Carlos Saldanha (; born 24 January 1965) is a Brazilian animator, director, producer, and voice actor of animated films who worked with Blue Sky Studios until its closure in 2021. He was the director of '' Ice Age: The Meltdown'' (2006), '' Ice A ...

, his first live-action project, and written by Elena Soarez. Klink has written seven books about his voyages, including ''Between Two Poles'' about his trip from Antarctica to the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

Pole, starting in 1989 and taking 642 days. Klink helped in the construction of the polar vessel used in this trip, named ''Paratii'' after the town of

Paraty Paraty (or Parati, ) is a preserved Portuguese colonial (1500–1822) and Brazilian Imperial (1822–1889) municipality with a population of about 43,000. Indeed, the name "Paraty" originates from the local Guaianá Indians' Indigenous Tupi ...

in the state of

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Brazil. In 1999 Klink completed a solo circumnavigation of Antarctica over 88 days. He was credited as the first to take the shortest and most dangerous route around Antarctica. In 2002, Klink has completed an experimental phase of one of his project, "A Trip to China", a trip around the world through a maritime path that had never been explored before: the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...

. The project's first phase was successfully accomplished between 30 January and 6 April 2002. Later, Klink and crew left the

Antarctic Circle The Antarctic Circle is the most southerly of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of Earth. The region south of this circle is known as the Antarctic, and the zone immediately to the north is called the Southern Temperate Zone. S ...

, visiting Margarida Bay in the

Bellingshausen Sea The Bellingshausen Sea is an area along the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula between 57°18'W and 102°20'W, west of Alexander Island, east of Cape Flying Fish on Thurston Island, and south of Peter I Island (there the southern ''Vostokkyste ...

(in the extreme south of the Antarctic Peninsula). From there, the ship stopped in South Georgia before returning to Brazil.

Personal life

Amyr was born to a Lebanese father and a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

mother. He moved to

when he was two. Klink is a member of the

Royal Geographical Society The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers), often shortened to RGS, is a learned society and professional body for geography based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical scien ...

. He married Marina Bandeira in 1996 and has three daughters. In late 2021, Klink's daughter Tamara completed a solo sail across the Atlantic after accompanying her father on various expeditions.

Bibliography

* ''Mar Sem Fim'' (Endless Sea) () * ''As Janelas do Paraty'' (The Windows of Paraty) () * ''Paratii entre Dois Pólos'' (Between Two Poles) () * ''Cem Dias entre Céu e Mar'' (100 Days Between Sea and Sky) () * ''Gestão de Sonhos, Riscos e Oportunidades'' (Dreams, Risks and Opportunities Management) () * ''Os Portos do Mundo e o Porto do Rio'' (The Ports of the World and the Port of Rio) * ''Construindo o Futuro'' (Building the Future) * ''Linha-d'Água: Entre Estaleiros e Homens do Mar'' (Waterline: Between Shipyards and Sailors) () * ''Dias na Antártica: Imagens de um Expedição de Amyr Klink'' (Days in Antarctica: Images of an Expedition of Amyr Klink) ()

References

External links

* 1955 births Living people People from São Paulo Brazilian people of Lebanese descent Brazilian people of Swedish descent Brazilian explorers Brazilian sailors Brazilian male writers Explorers of Antarctica Single-handed sailors University of São Paulo alumni 20th-century Brazilian people 21st-century Brazilian people {{Brazil-bio-stub