Wanderlust lectures by the Kirchbergers: To the ends of the earth

Kristina Müller

· 15.03.2024

The steel yacht "La Belle Epoque" in the ice

Strong sailing couple: Claudia and Jürgen Kirchberger

The bright red steel yacht in a secluded bay

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Photo: Fortgeblasen.at

Ten years at sea and 60,000 nautical miles - Claudia and Jürgen Kirchberger's sailing record to date is impressive and inspires us to dream. The two well-known long-distance sailors from Austria invite you to do just that with their new lecture tour. Since November, they have also been showing their programme "To the ends of the earth" in Germany. They will be guests in Düsseldorf on 17 March, followed by three more dates.

We last reported on the couple's extraordinary Greenland voyage in January 2023. Their sailing careers got off to a stormy and unconventional start: at the age of just 20, Claudia and Jürgen lost their first sailing boat in a hurricane and barely escaped with their lives. But they pluck up new courage: they build an expedition yacht from an old wreck. In 2009, they set off again to reach the most remote corners of the world under sail.

to the lecture dates throughout Germany

High in the north, deep in the south

It is not the usual holiday destinations or the easy sailing routes of this world that appeal to them. They fall in love with the cold regions of the world and spend two years on board in the Arctic. Together they experience an icy winter frozen in Greenland, followed by the Northwest Passage, often referred to as the "Mount Everest for sailors". They encounter polar bears and walruses and sail among humpback whales in Alaska.

Then it's on to the tropics, across the Pacific and through the South Seas, where they experience hospitality among the palm trees and their thirst for adventure takes them on extended dives. After a year in New Zealand, they leave the route of the classic circumnavigators once again and sail one of the toughest ocean passages of all: in the realm of storms through the roaring forties to South America.

Course Antarctica

Arriving in Chile, they experience a magical winter in the canals of Patagonia and embark on a special adventure the following summer: they leave Cape Horn in their wake and sail across the dangerous Drake Passage to experience Antarctica for three months. They then cross the entire Atlantic from south to north and return to Europe, completing the circle.

In their presentations, Claudia and Jürgen Kirchberger talk about all these adventures. They tell how two rookies became experienced ocean sailors who, despite seasickness, mental and physical strain, storms and fear, never allowed themselves to be stopped on their great journey.