News

16.01.2008 09:53:00

We present you an interesting article by Iwona Marciniak devoted to "The Expedition of the Century" which appeared on the 12th January 2008 in "Głos Koszaliński".

The route is 41.5 thousand km long. It goes from westmost point of Europe – Portuguese Cape Roca – through Siberian wilderness as far as to Bering Strait.

The travellers want to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Great Car Race from New York to Paris (therefore in the latter city the official start of the expedition will take place on Saturday). A century ago, 17 representatives of four countries: USA, France, Germany and Italy took the challenge. The company Troton from near Kołobrzeg, manufacturing maintenance materials for car body, cheer on and support the contemporary heroes as their sponsor.
- I think there is not a man who wouldn't dream about travels. And as not all of us will make the dream come true, we want to help somebody who has enough passion, courage and imagination to do it – says Jan Wołejszo, the President of Troton.

He was seduced by Siberia
Romuald Koperski from Gdańsk – a car pilot, writer, journalist, photographer, diver and pianist, is the holder of the world record in the length of giving concerts nonstop, is the initiator of this expedition Listening to his stories you feel like packing your belongings and setting off with him. Especially when he talks about Siberia which seduced him with its infinity, space, wilderness and observed nowhere else hospitality of its inhabitants.

As a confirmation of the statement about the Siberia's inhabitants hospitality, Koperski tells about one night spent at the family's living in the middle of nowhere, where he found himself when he alone in a pontoon made by Stomil was challenging Lena, the longest river of Siberia.

- When I was leaving their modest house, they asked me to stay for a few days because the host would be baking bread - tells Koperski. - And I felt I had to go further. I thanked them and got on my pontoon. A few days later I got a bag of bread anyway. The hosts caught up with me in their motorboat, 50 km away. It was happening in a place where a litre of fuel is priceless. But for these people I – the man on the road, was the most important at that moment.

What do we need the telephone for?
Koperski has been on tens of expeditions through Siberia. But nobody has ever undertaken the expedition as the one on which Koperski is setting off on the 12th of January. Together with Marian Pilorz they will be driving a 27-year-old-car MAN Cat. 1, used till these days by German Bundeswehra. They want to challenge the area which no mechanical vehicle has reached before. Very difficult area.

As Koperski says, frozen rivers of Siberia will be like highways for them. There are also 16 mountain ranges ahead of them. The longest section which they have to challenge without contact with people and access to fuel, they calculate for 1600 km. They will take 2 thousand litres of fuel whenever possible filled up to top.

There will be no communication with the dare-devils where it is the coldest. Koperski does not even think about taking an intercom. For a simple reason: - We are going to challenge areas considered uninhabited. Even if something happened to me, the phone would be useful just to transmit short information sounding like this: Hello, that’s the end of the journey, a bear is coming towards me and he clicked - says the traveller with a boisterous smile.

They are taking a gift for the pupils.
The only thing which may scare him is the cold. The temperature may drop even to – 70 degrees Celsius. German car, maintained by Troton will be put into test, so will they: - This expedition cannot be planned in detail, with a pencil in hand. It must be a bit crazy. This will be the charm of the expedition - convinces Koperski. - And how it was, I will certainly tell. Right after we come back, so after April, 30th.

The Poles have one more mission: In the Yakutsk town of Chersky they will visit the pupils in the local primary school. The pupils from this school look after the grave of Polish geologist, paleontologist and explorer of Siberia, the exile after January Uprising, Jan Czerski. Romuald Koperski will take multimedia projector equipped with the computer, funded by Troton, for the children.

Iwona Marciniak