A Viking Adventure

Norwegian adventurer Jarle Andhøy has been arrested off the coast of Chile, being charged an unsanctioned trip to the Antarctica earlier this year. The travelers were looking for traces of a yacht which sank in a huge storm in February, 2011 - with the loss of three lives - and a strange story. Their sailing vessel was named after the famous legendary Scandanivian warrior-

-A Berserker.

Readers of Scandinavian history know that the Berserker warrior would fight with furious rage wearing no armor, except a bearskin, and create panic amongst enemy troops by his exceptional skill, rage and daring. This vessel named Berserk was a simple 48 foot steel yacht heavily loaded with supplies, little weather-proofing and carrying four-wheeled ATVs lashed to the deck. Two self-proclaimed "Vikings", one being skipper Jarle Andhøy had been to Antarctica before, then, in a 27-foot sailing boat. The young crew on-board Berserk wished to revive the old Norsemen traditions, being opposed to today's so-called “civilized” and often artificial way of living. Instead of being a part of the "playstation-generation" in a 7–4 life with computers and electronics , they wished to seek adventure and exploration in the spirit of the ancient vikings. Their expedition started in the fall of 2009 from the top of the world (Northwest Passage) and was to be completed at the bottom by a five member crew of the “Pizzageneration” that was crewing the Berserk.Tours into and through the wild country were advertised on their web-site.

This time, leaving the Berserk on their northern voyage when the ice flow forced them to stop, Andrøy, 34, and his Norwegian companion Samuel Massie, 19, set off on ATVs to complete their trek to the South Pole. Their intention was to be the first expedition to commemorate Roald Amundsen's successful trip 100 years ago.Soon after the two left the ship, a hurricane struck the area, causing huge waves and threatening conditions for the Berserk and the three on-board sailors. The ship’s distress signal was picked up by monitoring vessels, but before they could come to the doomed ship’s aid, no traces of the yacht could be found. Only a ruined life-raft was recovered by search vessels. Berserk, a Norway-flagged 45m-long yacht with three men aboard disappeared in McMurdo Sound, 33km north of Scott Base. Receiving reports of the ship’s sinking, the two ATV-explorers were forced to change course to a near-by base. After finding no trace of Berserk or the ship’s-crew, they were forced to answer their critics. The colorful and youthful duo had things to explain. -------------------------------------- Skipper Jarle Andhøy was a highly publicized sailor in Norway, having appeared on several TV shows and in the news. At one time, he was fined, and sentenced in Norway for trying to ”talk to the Polar Bears” on Svalbard Island during an earlier expedition. Now, one year later, the urge to revisit the site of the doomed Berserk caused the two survivors to experiment with another yacht that soon became named BerserkII.

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Test voyages on a Russian-registered yacht named "Nilaya" became uncharted without permission, to sail in various areas until a call was received from the "new Berserk" that they were headed into the Antarctic area once again, resulting in authorities seeking their arrest. Learning this, the expedition ended. After finding nothing and calling off the search for the original Berserk, this crew of three decided against sailing to New Zealand, believing they could face prosecution there, and instead headed for South America. They now became fugitives..

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In April, 2012, Norway News has reported that Norwegian adventurer Jarle Andhøy had been arrested off the coast of Chile. Mr Andhøy and fellow Norwegian Samuel Massie are being charged with the second unsanctioned trip to the Antarctic.In a recent news release: "The International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO), whose membership includes many charter yacht owners, issued a press statement on 3 March; this stated that the Berserk operators had not secured the necessary authorization or permits, and that "...the Norwegian Polar Institute, as the competent authority, has decided to formally report the leader of the Berserk expedition to Norwegian prosecuting authorities for violations of Antarctic regulations..."

Their odessy was over, but their problems still prove to be rough waters.