Team

The team - they are united by a longing for the vast and endless sea

Saint-Exupéry once wrote: “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea”.

This applies to the ones who sail a ship through the winds and waves of every ocean, as well as to the team who organizes everything from land: the shipyard, appointments, spare parts, route planning, fellow sailors, arrivals, departures, provisions, weather and so much more.

Sailing and boat ownership is not easy work but is a craft fueled with passion and usually a great longing for freedom and nature.

We, Jeannete & Wolf, owners of the Santa Maria Australis and the Santa Maria, have managed to put together a team that not only shares “the longing for the vast, endless sea”, but also inspires and passes on these amazing life experiences to others.

WOLF KLOSS

Owner and Skipper.

Born in 1957, sailor, mountaineer, climber, and all-round adventurer.

Getting to know distant countries and cultures is his motivation, a ship is an ideal medium. You have everything you need in just one place.

In 1985 he bought the 14-meter steel ship SANTA MARIA, and with it he sailed the Mediterranean Sea then across the Atlantic to the Caribbean, always following the sun.

At the end of the 80s, Wolf started to get a bit restless. But he knew that, far in the south, new challenges were awaiting. Cape Horn and the Antarctic, a large and empty adventure playground made from ice and rocks. It was an immeasurable invitation to discover, explore, and conquer. Here he finds his world.

In 1991 the Venezuelan-born Jeannete came on board.

Together in 1995, they began pioneering, discovering the adventurous waters and mountains of Tierra del Fuego around Cape Horn and the Antarctic.

In 2011 Wolf managed to circumnavigate the American continent completely. Within a year he rounded Cape Horn and sailed the infamous Northwest Passage, something that nobody succeeded in doing before.

Today, Wolf Kloss is still sailing the world’s oceans as a skipper on both the SANTA MARIA AUSTRALIS and the SANTA MARIA.

Jeannete Talavera

Owner & All-round Crew.

Already at a young age, Jeannete found her motivation and life-affirmation in traveling.

In 1991 Jeannete and sailor Wolf Kloss met in the Caribbean. As a companion, organizer, deckhand, and cook, she stayed on the 14-meter yacht SANTA MARIA, and that is how her sailing story begins.

In 1995 they moved south to the “End of the World”, where they found their home.

Jeannete was the first Venezuelan in the world to sail to Antarctica.

After all these impressive experiences, she breaks free from the seductions of civilization, just as Wolf years before.

In that same year, they founded the company SIM Expeditions and the Coirón Hostel in Puerto Williams – Chile, which still receives nature-lover guests today.

Jeannete takes care of the organization and daily affairs related to our sailing trips, the company SIM Expeditions, and the Coirón Hostel. She has been looking after our customers for 25 years, helping them in any way they need. She speaks Spanish, German, and English.

Unless she is in the office, taking part in a trip to Antarctica, or busy being a mom, you will find her traveling, cycling, hiking, doing yoga and more, enjoying life at its best.

Jeannete and Wolf have two kids together, son Daniel and daughter Karin. Both were self-taught on board in Puerto Williams and are now studying in Europe and South America.

CREW

Christian Grothmann

Skipper

Experience: Sailing Instructor · Outdoors · Sailing deliveries
Date of Birth: June 1980
Nationality: German

Christian’s maritime qualifications

– Royal Yachtmaster Ocean

– Sporthochseeschifferschein

– ISAF safety and medicine at sea courses of the cruiser division of the British RYA

– VHF Radio License

– Licenced sea captain

– sailing school operator of the sailing school Christian Grothmann GmbH

Christian’s personal profile

He comes from an old captain’s family and grew up on the Isle of Usedom, Germany. After school and alongside his university studies, he earned his money by sailing.

He started a career in the military and was promoted as a former Lieutenant at sea. Christian was for many years a sailing instructor at the German Navy, before he established himself independently as a sailing instructor. For many years, he was in charge of the nautical department at the sailing school “Große Freiheit” in Berlin, before founding his own “Christian Grothmann Sailing School”, with which he offers a complete program of nautical training.

Through, sailing as sailing instructor or as skipper hired on other vessels, he gained individual experience in many responsible positions.

At the season 2018-2019 on the sailing yacht Santa Maria Australis and with Daniel Holleis (professional Skipper on SMA from about 2014 till 2018) as a mentor, Christian started the season as 2nd Skipper in two trips, including one to South Georgia. After this experience, he skippered successfully 6 Antarctica expeditions on the sailing vessel SANTA MARIA AUSTRALIS.

Advance skills and experience, on yacht maintenance and ocean preparation.

Karl Papenfuss

Boatman

Experience: Sailing • Outdoors
Date of Birth: October 1992
Nationality: German

Karl’s maritime qualifications

– RYA/MCA Yachtmaster Ocean with commercial endorsement.

– STCW Elementary First Aid

– STCW Personal Sea Survival certificate

– RYA SRC/VHF License

Karl’s personal profile

SY SANTA MARIA AUSTRALIS 68ft,

Season 2017-2018 – 4x Antarctica – Deck hand

Season 2018-2019 – 4x Antarctica – 1x South Georgia – Deck hand

Season 2019-2020 – 3x Antarctica – Co-Skipper

About 20.000 nautical miles offshore experience, as deck hand in different sailing yachts.

5.000 nm offshore experience as co-skipper

Good skills and experience on yacht maintenance and ocean preparation.