Icy waves and Antarctic winds up to 120km/h kept Spanish adventure athlete Antonio de la Rosa’s 7m rowboat listed over to port for days on end. Departing Cape Horn, the southernmost point of South America, on 7 January 2023, de la Rosa rowed south towards Elephant Island, 903km away in the Antarctic archipelago. He relied on a climbing harness to keep him from falling out of the boat as rough seas tossed him around like a cork. Ocean currents pushed him east of his course, no matter how hard he rowed against them.
De la Rosa had set out in the tiny boat, which he named Ocean Defender, to be the first person to row alone to Antarctica. Like the early Spanish explorers in the region, he was travelling without fossil fuels, using only his own strength rowing and taking advantage of ocean currents and wind. When he finished the journey, he had travelled 2,380km, risking his life in the unforgiving Antarctic cold.
Beyond the athletic challenge, de la Rosa wanted to document the state of the Southern Ocean. Sitting right at sea level, he had a much more intimate experience with the ocean than passengers on the typical cruise ships that venture through these dangerous waters.
