Sponsoring - Projects supported by BAUER

September 1998

Starship Millennium Voyage

Join us on this 1000-day cruise around the world and participate in this very special adventure: a journey into the new Millennium.

1. August 1998 a yacht set sail in Boston harbour (Massachusetts, USA) for a cruise around the globe. After a three year adventure cruise and 75 000 nautical miles out at sea, the "Starship Millennium" is to arrive at Hamburg harbour on 1. August 2001. The ship will trace the routes taken by the adventurers and discovers Vasco da Gama, James Cook, Charles Darwin and Alexander von Humboldt.

The "Starship" crew will be accompanied by "Stern" journalists (German lifestyle magazine) and internationally acclaimed adventurers, researchers, authors and photographers.

The Starship

The ship, which will accommodate the crew for over three years, has a length of 22,80 meters: Her owner, the media expert Michael Poliza from Hamburg, initiated this interactive around-the-world cruise. The "Starship" was built in Anacortes (Washington State, USA) in line with ecological considerations.

An extremely economical MAN V8 diesel engine, powers the ship, which does not need to call into a port for weeks. The reduced draught allows the yacht to navigate safely even in shallow waters. Modern sonar equipment and bow and stern sideways propulsion engines ensure optimal manoeuvrability. Two dinghies permit excursions to territories inaccessible to the "Starship".

Anti-rolling stabilisers keep the ship steady, even when the sea is rough. Well-dimensioned petrol and water tanks and an on-board desalination plant ensure the Starship's autonomy for a single stretch of 6000 to 8000 kilometres. Besides radar and GPS (global positioning system) the boat has a satellite link for data, pictures and video transmissions.

The Starship's top speed of 9 knots is hardly superior to that of the medieval explorers. The technical equipment, however, is 21-century-standard.

The Travel Route

From Seattle the "Starship" headed north to the Aleutian Islands, then past Central and South America, right to South Georgia in the Southern Atlantic Ocean. Past Antarctica, Cape Horn, the Easter Islands and Hawaii through the Pacific to Caledonia.

At turn of the Millennium, the "Starship" will cross the date line and the equator. The crew will be the first and the last to celebrate the New Millennium.

The travel route takes the ship past Australia into the Indian Ocean and to the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa. From there, the "Starship" will cross the Atlantic, back to South and North America and finally to Newfoundland, via the Azores back to the final destination Hamburg.

Check out the "Starship" Homepage for details.