Skip Novak
In 2002/2003 Skip Novak project managed the construction of his new Pelagic Australis, a 23 meter purpose built expedition vessel for high latitude sailing in order to augment the charter operations of the original Pelagic.
Launched in September of 2003 she is the flag ship for Pelagic Expeditions.
Skip sits on the Panel of Experts that vets expeditions to South Georgia on behalf of the South Georgia government. He is also on the Executive Committee of IAATO (International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators).
A winter voyage to South Georgia had seemed like a great idea to Skip Novak and his crew aboard Pelagic Australis. But now ice was accumulating on deck and in the rig at an alarming rate
Skip Novak, best known for taking part in four Whitbread Round the World Races, is one of Raymarine’s ambassadors and so far has spent 23 seasons in the Antarctic onboard his boats Pelagic and Pelagic Australis supported by Raymarine’s instruments and equipment.
Skip Novak
No matter how well you think you have prepared for a voyage, there are always things that slip through the net. Usually, they are minor items that didn’t make the final hitlist as preoccupied minds were concentrating on the big picture.
On this occasion, halfway to South Georgia from the Falklands Islands, and having crossed the Polar Front, we were lacking an armoury of wooden mallets and rubber hammers. We only had one. And a 50kg bag of rock salt would not have gone amiss either.
Southern winter, 19 August, and we were sailing on a broad reach in 30 knots true, an established south-westerly airstream sweeping up from the Antarctic.
What appeared to be a stationary high well away to the west was blocking the usual depressions marching through this part of the Southern Ocean ideal sailing conditions for us really, and the temperatures hovering between 4° and 7° of frost would not have otherwise been an issue. But even a light sea spray coming over the beam was causing substantial accumulation of ice on deck and up to three metres on the rig.
Ice had to be chipped off regularly to ensure the boat didn’t become top heavy
It was soon apparent that our choice of a very conservative sail plan – three reefs in the mainsail and our storm staysail was the right one. Well, choices from that point on were moot, as the furling drum on the staysail was already the size of a frozen beach ball and the main halyard …read more
Skip Novak was born in 1952. He is best known for his participation in four Whitbread Round the World Yacht Races since 1977. In that year at the age of 25 he navigated the British Cutter Kings Legend to 2nd place.
Skippering the Independent Endeavour in 1979, he won the Parmelia Race from Plymouth to Freemantle Australia.
Skip Novak and Drum
Drum was a yacht owned in the mid-1980s by Simon Le Bon and Paul and Michael Berrow, who commissioned yachtsman Skip Novak to build with the purpose of taking part in the 1985 Whitbread Round the World Race.
