Meet a living legend. Meet Master Mariner, Petr Golikov.
Along with highly experienced crews, vessels carrying passengers to remote Polar Regions must be specifically designed and prepped for intricate journeys. Petr and powerhouse Kapitan Khlebnikov icebreaker, seen here crushing through arctic sea ice, have been dedicated to making this journey for over 20 years.
Petr's vast knowledge, combined with decades of practical experience with vessels specifically designed for icebreaking, make him an integral part of a guided arctic cruise you won't soon forget.
Few captains have earned the vetted reputation and experience of Petr Golikov. As the first Master of Khlebnikov from 1992 to 2004, he is now our VP of Logistics in the Toronto office and carries a number of exclusive achievements and responsibilities.
Petr took the first trip from Cape Town to Antarctica, and in 1992, sailed Antarctica in what he described as “an awful passage.”
In 1997, he was the first to complete a full circumnavigation of Antarctica with passengers.
To add to his long and impressive list of achievements, Petr has further been credited as the 10th Master to sail Antarctica, and the first Master Mariner to circumnavigate Antarctica twice.
The Captain and His Icebreaker
Khlebnikov, a ship Petr commanded for 20 years, has returned to service with Quark to provide the exclusive voyages it is famous for, including a semi and full circumnavigation of the Arctic, and four special Arctic Icebreaker Expeditions, comprised of the Best of the Canadian Arctic, Extreme Greenland, the Epic Northeast Passage, and the Ultimate Northwest Passage.
The legendary icebreaker, known affectionately as the KLB by its loyal passengers, is one of the most famous passenger icebreakers to sail the Arctic regions, and is the only vessel in the history to have sailed along the Phantom Coast of Antarctica.
Not your Regular, Everyday Cruise
Considered by experts as a class above ice-strengthened ships, it was originally designed to crack ice in the Russian Arctic, one of the most difficult regions on the planet for ice breaking. Everything from the Khlebnikov's engine power, shape, and hull strength, to the shallow angles of her propellers, contributes to its exclusive design; a construction resulting in the only vessel capable of navigating certain areas of the world.
Voyages of this magnitude require experts from a wide range of fields — from ice specialists and ice pilots to specially-trained crew — as well as teams of people with decades of experience. Although Khlebnikov is equipped with amenities such as a sauna and small pool, traveling aboard the ice-crushing vessel is (by far) not an ordinary cruise.
Exclusive Icebreaking Journeys
Because of heavy, multi-year ice conditions in specific areas of the Polar Regions, traveling on a legitimate icebreaker is imperative — no other type of vessel is capable of making Khlebnikov's daunting passages. On your exclusive icebreaker expedition, you can be sure you're in good hands with celebrated experts and leaders like Master Mariner Petr Golikov.
For more information, contact a Polar Travel Adviser at Quark Expeditions.
