Reminiscing: Our Quark Polar “Chariots”

We’ve been to the polar regions — north and south — several times since we began traveling extensively after 9/11.

Some were land-based trips … such as the one we did in Alaska, traversing the entire state to dip our toes in the Arctic Ocean.

Most, however, were seagoing expeditions … all but two of which were with Quark … on a variety of ships ranging from Professor Molchanov (built in 1983), which took us to the Falklands, South Georgia, and the Antarctic Peninsula; to Sea Spirit (built in 1991), which took us around coastal Greenland … west to east around the southern tip; to 50 Let Pobedy (launched in 1993), which took us all the way to the North Pole.

None of these vessels were purpose-built for polar tourism. The Professor Molchanov began its career as a Russian research vessel … Sea Spirit as a cruise vessel … 50 Let Pobedy as a Russian nuclear ice breaker. They were chartered to take people like us to the polar regions.

Ultramarine is different. It was purpose-built by Quark to take people like us into Arctic and Antarctic waters. I’m sure I’ll be writing more about the vessel that will take us “In the Footsteps of Franklin.” In the meantime, I thought it would be fun to just share photos of the Quark vessels that have helped us scratch our “Ice Itch.”

(P.S. Our non-Quark expeditions were on Silversea’s Silver Explorer, which took us to Svalbard; and Oceanwide’s Ortelius, which took us from the tip of Argentina to New Zealand by way of the Antarctic Peninsula and the Ross Sea.)Read more