BBC - Devon Features - Pete Goss still aims to walk in the footsteps of Captain Scott

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11 December 2009
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Pete Goss still aims for South Pole trek

Pete Goss has had to delay his South Pole trek

Pete Goss is still pursuing his dream of following in the footsteps of Captain Scott.

His original plan to make the trek to the South Pole in 2003 was postponed and as yet a new date hasn't been agreed.

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FACTS

Peter Goss first hit the headlines during the 1996-7 Vendee Globe round the world single handed yacht race.

During the race, he risked his own life to to rescue French sailor Raphael Dinelli in a Southern Ocean hurricane.

Pete Goss' Team Philips catamaran was a revolutionary design which suffered problems during its development.

Designed by Adrian Thompson and developed in a specially built riverside yard in Totnes, Team Philips eventually broke up in a storm in the Mid-Atlantic while undergoing trials.

The yacht was left to drift - and Pete Goss's dream of winning the no-holds-barred event The Race was over.

Like Pete Goss, Captain Robert Scott was also born in Devon.

He reached the South Pole on 18th January 1912, but on the way back, he and his party in March 1912 were hit by terrible weather.

When Captain Oates left the tent, he uttered the famous words: "I am just going outside, and I may be some time". He was never seen again. All five men in the party died.

Another part of the tragedy was that Norwegian Roald Amundsen had reached the South Pole on 14th December 1911 - a month before Scott.

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Adventurer Pete Goss has confirmed he's still on course to undertake an epic trek to the South Pole in the footsteps of Devon explorer Captain Scott.

In 2003 Goss was forced to postpone the project to allow more time to raise funds.

Devon-born Pete was due to set off on the Antarctic adventure with Somerset-based Alan Chambers in November 2003.

However, the expedition will cost around £360,000, and at that point only £100,000 had been raised.

Twelve months on and no firm date has been set for the expedition to take place.

The project is looking to raise money for the HopeHIV charity, which helps children in Africa who have been orphaned by Aids.

Pete said: "By delaying the challenge it gives the project the chance to mature and bring in the additional funds for the cause.

"The knee-jerk reaction was of disappointment, but it is for the good of the project benefactors that we hold off."

Team Philips - Pete Goss' £4m craft which was lost in 2000

The two former Royal Marines announced plans for the trek earlier in 2003.

What makes the project so exciting is that the walk follows in the footsteps of Captain Robert Scott.

Plymouth-born Captain Scott reached the South Pole in January 1912 - but he and his four companions died when they encountered fierce storms on the way back to their base camp.

The party had hoped to be the first to reach the South Pole - but they were beaten to it by Norwegian Roald Amundsen, who made it to the Pole in December 1911.

Captain Scott's route was so dangerous that no-one has ever reached the South Pole that way.

Earlier this year, Pete Goss said: "Ninety-two years later and this challenge remains. It's one of the few things in the world that's still a first."

As part of their preparations, Pete and Alan - who both have MBEs - have already undergone training at the North Pole, and they completed a 17-day expedition across Greenland.

This is the second disappointment to have hit Pete Goss. In December 2000, his revolutionary carbon fibre yacht Team Philips was lost in trials in the Atlantic.

The £4m catamaran, built in Totnes, was constructed specially to compete in the no-rules, round the world event, The Race.

Pete and his six crew had to be rescued by a German container ship when Team Philips started to break up in huge seas in the Atlantic.

Wreckage from Team Philips has recently gone on show at the National Maritime Museum in Falmouth.

Send your good luck messages to Pete Goss

Article updated: 3rd November 2004