Actually, they're a pretty normal couple! And they weren't all that far from Palmer Station, a US scientific base that has a physician. They vowed not to use the base outside of a life threatening emergency and went so far as to bury supplies in the surrounding ice in case of fire. (Antarctica is the driest place on earth and fires are actually the main threat. It's generally around 20-30F degrees where they wintered, near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, although the wind can be a b*tch!)

Some real nuts have wintered over on the ice much further south; some of the survivors have written books with the few fingers they had left.

If you want someone to winter in an island in the Bahamas I’m all for it, I might even volunteer to go through the stress of doing it myself. But Antarctica, forget it!!!

at 250 miles offshore, I'd want a quality offshore life raft, as well as good PFDs for the entire crew. As for GPS, at least two with plenty of spare batteries.

Oh, and an EPIRB with PLB backup

If I am sailing that far offshore, you can rest assured that I would have all of the appropriate equipment.

Then again, I've been doing this stuff for over 30 years.

Saw a documentary about the Martin family sailing around Iceland, Greenland, etc, in a relatively small boat. There's a book too. Here's a link with some of their info. Pretty interesting.

http://www.setsail.com/s_logs/martin/martin.html

I have a 31' sailboat ready to go as my ultimate escape "just in case" I can't stay hunkered down at home. She is fiberglass, shallow draft, and rigged for all safety and comfort for the two of us. I would suggest courses from Power Squadron, USCG, and lots of reading. I learned the basics of sailing, knots, dead reckoning navigation, rules of the road, and lots more from those courses, but the best teacher was experience...in little baby steps. We sailed in bays, then marina-hopped on the Texas coast, then headed out to blue water when we felt confident. Of course, have a VHF radio, GPS, Epirb, and all the goodies...harness, tether, life jackets. Welcome to the world of those of us who like to throw money into a hole in the water!

Thanks a lot DWeste!

Now I'm looking at sailboats again, like I would ever have the time to use one!!!

You have relit the fever. Now I've got to undergo a very long bath with massive amounts of ice poured in.

For doing this, I think he should compensate (sp?) you by helping outfit your new boat you now have to buy…

I already have the equipment required/needed to sail most anywhere. It is a nice sentiment.

I will stick to my plan and in 15 years, I'll start my retirement job with a new sailboat!

At least make him come wash the boat every so often...