THE GRAND DETOUR
The 27.1-metre Firebird may have the outward appearance of a traditional Oyster sailing yacht but her owner, Andrey Yakunin, has never sought a traditional sailing programme. Yakunin is a skiing fanatic, so the yacht has spent much of the past five years in Norway’s Lyngen Alps peninsula, providing the ultimate “chalet” for those wanting to ski pristine powder directly from the boat. However, in 2019 he decided it was time to push Firebird’s credentials one step further, seeing her take to the northern latitudes of Svalbard before heading all the way south to the icy realms of Antarctica.
More than a year’s planning had gone into the route, as well as extensive work on the yacht to ensure she was up for the challenge. “We have worked very hard for three years to adapt so that she is ready for the programme we are undertaking,” explains Yakunin. “We have Kevlar rudders, which are ice proof, we obviously have the heating systems on board, and we have also developed a Kevlar nose cone, which we can put on the bow to protect her from drift ice and slush.” Unfortunately,
