Quark Expeditions Partners With Starpath School of Navigation for the Ultimate Polar Learn-&-Cruise Through the Arctic's Northwest Passage

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Jan 24, 2011, 12:00 ET

WATERBURY, Vt., Jan. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Together, Starpath School of Navigation and Quark Expeditions will provide amateur and advanced sailors alike a unique opportunity to transit the Holy Grail of Arctic exploration while earning certification in several areas of navigation. Starpath has trained passionate sailors in all phases of marine navigation and weather since 1978. Quark, a polar expedition specialist founded in 1991, has sailed the Northwest Passage with adventure travelers more often than any other company on the planet.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110124/NE34822 )

The Training Program

The training program will begin with home study and online preparation before departure, followed by onboard lectures, private tutoring and hands-on navigation, weather analysis, and communications practice. Post-expedition online training will be provided if a registered student requires it. Burch will cover the state of the art in computer-based electronic navigation as well as the traditional skills of sextants and their forerunners that were used by the daring navigators who attempted to transit the elusive north polar passage.

The full training package is included in the price of the expedition. The added-value is high, as registered participants have full access to all six Starpath online courses, their associated materials, plus two weeks of extended classroom learning and private tutoring. While onboard the icebreaker, program participants will practice their newly acquired skills on a full navigation station, with all data and communications options.

David Burch

Training at Seattle, Washington's Starpath School of Navigation transitioned from a traditional classroom setting to online courses. Yet, from time to time, David Burch, the school's founder, continues to train sailors face-to-face. An avid ocean sailor, Burch accepted Quark's invitation to teach an interdisciplinary program that blends ocean, coastal and inland navigation with the weather routing and communications in the Arctic aboard the icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov.

David Burch, PhD, FIN, is a Fellow of the Institute of Navigation. He has taken part as navigator and crew on multiple transoceanic yacht races. He has been awarded the Institute of Navigation's Superior Achievement Award for Outstanding Performance as a Practicing Navigator. The Fulbright Scholar studied at the prestigious Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany. He is the author of Emergency Navigation (2^nd edition, 2009); Radar for Mariners (2005) and Modern Marine Weather (2008). His book Fundamentals of Kayak Navigation (2008) is in its fourth edition.

Arctic Passage: Quark's East-West Transit of the Northwest Passage

From August 22 to September 13, 2011, only 112 travelers will sail from Kangerlussuaq, Greenland to Anadyr, Russia, through the Canadian Arctic. This 23-day expedition cruise is unique for two reasons. It will never be repeated, and there is no other Arctic voyage that includes Starpath Navigation training in 2011. (Kapitan Khlebnikov retires as an expedition vessel in March 2012.)

The training program will be conducted while at sea, and in between activities such as a cruise through Greenland's Ilulissat Isfjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. At Pond Inlet, on Baffin Island travelers will visit an internationally renowned Artist's Co-op. A shore landing will be made on Beechey Island, where three of Sir John Franklin's crew are buried. Onboard helicopters provide an aerial view of the icebreaker's ice-crushing capabilities.

The expedition cost per person in US dollars, based on twin occupancy begins at $31,290. In addition to the Starpath Navigation training program, all meals, excursions, accommodation, and group helicopter sightseeing are included in the price.

Expedition details can be found online at http://www.quarkexpeditions.com/starpath-quark. To book Arctic Passage and enroll in the Starpath Navigation training call Quark Expeditions 1.888.892.0171 or +1.416.645.8242.

Arctic Passage is a Segment of a Unique World Cruise

To celebrate its 20^th anniversary Quark Expeditions is operating a unique world cruise, most of which occurs above the Arctic Circle, in continual daylight. Arctic Passage is the final segment of Quark's world cruise that begins and ends in Anchorage, Alaska. The voyage can be purchased in its entirety, or in segments – Northeast Passage (July 10 to August 6, 2011); Greenland Semi-circumnavigation (August 4 to 24, 2011); and Arctic Passage, on which David Burch will conduct his navigation training (August 22 to September 13, 2011).

SOURCE Quark Expeditions