A British adventurer named Chris Brown has become the first person in history to lead an expedition to Point Nemo, the most isolated location on Earth.
It was named in honor of Jules Verne’s fictional submarine captain. Chris Brown commemorated the occasion by swimming in the eerily quiet location and holding a flag to demonstrate his accomplishment.
Brown confirmed his arrival at the “oceanic pole of inaccessibility” by posting photos on his Instagram account.
“Point Nemo – the Oceanic Pole of Inaccessibility – bagged on Wednesday 20th March 2024. Having stood with a flag at the other Poles, I thought it would be a good idea to get in the water and become the first people to ever swim at Point Nemo,” the explorer wrote on Instagram.
“The bunting spells out N.E.M.O. in maritime flags,” he further added.
Congratulatory messages started pouring in.
“That’s absolutely mega,” said one user. “Congratulations, how cold was the water?” asked another.
“Challenge everything,” a third user said.
Point Nemo is so remote that the nearest humans are astronauts in the International Space Station
It is so remote that the Pitcairn Islands 2,688 kilometers away is the nearest land from Point Nemo, while astronauts on the International Space Station, 408 kilometres above in low earth orbit, are the closest humans.
Many sailors have traveled near Point Nemo, but no expedition has specifically visited the exact location since it was discovered in 1992 by Canadian-Russian engineer Hrvoje Lukatela.
Before launching the expedition, Mr Brown spoke with the Daily Express about the challenges.
“I don’t consider this to be as dangerous as my expeditions to Africa or Antarctica. The obvious danger is that you’re miles from anywhere on the sea, and you’re going to be a long way from any of the shipping lanes so if there was a problem with the boat, help would be a long time coming,” he said.
Brown and his team started the mission from Puerto Montt in Chile, heading west to find the exact map grid coordinates of Point Nemo.