With desperate economic conditions still rising around the world, piracy on the high seas seems to be the way a certain segment of the population in countries like Somalia have chosen to earn their daily bread, robbing and slaughtering innocent traveler’s unfortunate enough to stray into their path. It turns out that cruising a luxury yacht into the Southern Ocean can be dangerous business as well. At least that’s what the Norwegian vessel, Berserk, discovered last week when they ran afoul of bad storms in the area.

Unfortunately, this appears

to be yet another case of poor judgment at sea that could have been avoided. Adventure travelers beware – oceans, mountains and deserts are tougher than you. Always have been. Always will be. Respect them or expect them to lash out and snuff out your candle of life in an instant.

Apparently, the cruising Berserk dropped off their captain, Jarle Andhooey, on the Antarctic continent in pursuit of his goal to reach the South Pole by ATV. He was the lucky one. Shortly after disembarking, vicious storms struck. The sailing yacht either was driven away by high winds or chose to try to escape by outrunning them. Regardless, the emergency locator transmitter was deployed but it was twenty-four hours before search-and-rescue teams could make it into the area. The only sign of the vessel was a drifting life-raft missing a first-aid kit.

Andhooey and another crewman were found on land. Three others crew members of the Berserk are missing and presumed dead. The search has been called off. The moral of this story sounds eerily similar to the tagline to a commercial that used to run on national televsion: “It isn’t wise to fool with Mother Nature.”

Truer words were never spoken, even in the pursuits of blatant capitalism. At The Jetsetter Show, we encourage people to live out their dreams of seeing as much of this world as humanly possible, but don’t forget to use common sense. We don’t want any of our readers to end up as the subject of a sad news story. Be adventurous but be smart too. The natural world can be a harsh mistress.

The Jetsetter Show

Flickr / Christian Revival Network

Tags: Antarctica, cruising, yacht