In organising the record-setting trip to ‘treacherous’ Point Nemo, Puttock helped set a record after she helped an adventurous client realise a dream of becoming the first person to swim in the isolated destination.
Somewhere in the South Pacific between New Zealand and Chile and located 1,670 miles from any landmass, Point Nemo is one of the Earth’s eight “poles of inaccessibility” and has been virtually unexplored by humans.
Puttock, who has been working in experiential travel for more than 16 years, says it was the voyage’s “never been done before” footnote that prompted her to investigate it further. “Nobody really knows what Point Nemo is like. Nobody knew if it was even possible to do,” she tells TTG Luxury.
But after six months’ planning, 8,000 nautical miles and 10 days of sailing, Wanderlux, along with the courageous client, confirmed to the world in March: Yes, it is possible.
Meeting the client
Puttock explains her Point Nemo expedition began with another travel industry professional she had become acquainted with on LinkedIn.
After developing a friendship online, the pair finally met in real life and, inevitably, became immersed in each other’s networks.
It was during this period that Puttock was introduced to a well-known British explorer, who, in 2019, has made it his mission to visit all eight poles of inaccessibility. Also defined as locations that are furthest away from either land or water, these invisible spots are notoriously remote and require meticulous planning (as well as ample resources) to get to.
Inspired by his vision, Puttock offered to organise a tour to the next stop on the client’s “poles” bucket list – Point Nemo.
“The initial synergy was the fact we’re both British and he’s a keen avid explorer. He was interested in the work I was doing and vice versa,” she says. “It was a natural progression to introduce us and to see if there was a way I could help him to achieve his life goals.
“I proactively went to him because I knew it was something he wanted to achieve, and I worked with a supplier who I thought could help him achieve it.”
Making plans
Once the client had accepted her proposal, it was time to arrange logistics. Usual expedition travel issues, such as budget and time frame (depending on variables), were discussed and agreed upon. As for the vessel, Puttock settled on the luxurious yet compact Hanse Explorer after discovering it would already be sailing in the general direction of Point Nemo.
“This particular yacht was migrating across to Papua New Guinea and the alignment was perfect, which was why I chose this vessel. It was kind of going that way anyway!” she explains. “It was about pitching to the captain to do a detour of about a thousand miles and figuring out if that was possible.”
Having chartered the ship and secured the route, Puttock’s client, joined by his adult son and a small crew, set sail on 12 March in the hope of finally turning his fantasy into a reality.
Extreme travel
Despite Wanderlux’s arduous planning and cautionary measures, the journey to Point Nemo was not without adversity. The area is known for towering waves and rough currents, making it one of the most difficult sea spots for ships – let alone people – to navigate safely.
“It’s treacherous,” Puttock explains. “The client travelled through two very strong cyclones during the expedition, and in theory, if you’re arriving in a storm, there’s no way to get into the water.”
Puttock goes on to emphasise the importance of agents managing clients’ expectations during these extreme tours, to ensure that they can plan properly and mitigate the risks.
“So many variables could have disabled the success of what they wanted to achieve,” Puttock admits, before noting that two days before their arrival, the weather conditions would have been too dangerous to leave the boat. “So many factors made it quite difficult to estimate and confirm in advance.”
The invisible finish line
Fortunately, the water was more welcoming than anticipated on arrival at Point Nemo on 20 March. The client and his son were even able to briefly enter the sea, which had reached waves of three metres in height, for a quick dip in celebration of the monumental triumph.
For Puttock, the tour will also always be one of immense pride for the Wanderlux portfolio. “The Point Nemo trip touched me because it’s a challenge that’s never been done before,” she explains. “There’s no copy and paste – it’s travel and adventure curation at its finest. It’s creativity and adaptability.
“They’re the types of requests that Wanderlux lives for. We’re problem solvers in the travel world – we enable these crazy, weird and wonderful requests to become reality.”
