On Halloween we boarded the Pharos SG in the
afternoon. The Pharos is the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich
Islands’ (GSGSSI) Fishery Patrol vessel. It is she who ensures that the fishery
around South Georgia is sustainable by stopping illegal fishing and making sure
that all fishing vessels comply with the regulations to get a licence to fish
in these waters.
We had what felt like a bit of a false start
because we left that afternoon to go round the corner to get fuel from the
Naval base in East Cove. We left Stanley in very unusually calm weather and
loitered in the sound waiting to go round to East Cove. While loitering most of
us went up on deck and witnessed the most beautiful sunset over the hills of
the Falklands. At the same time we were entertained by groups of penguins
swimming home from the days fishing. It was quite an amazing site to see these
beautiful, graceful birds porpoising through the wavelets, knowing how ungainly
they would be as soon as they reached the beach at Gypsy Cove. It really felt
like such a privilege to be standing there amidst all that beauty, watching
PENGUINS in the water, rather surreal actually.
After refuelling, which took pretty much all day on
Thursday, we left East Cove and started our journey properly in the afternoon.
Even though there is very little swell the Pharos rolls unbelievably. I have to
say that I would really not like to be on her in a big sea. We each have our
own cabin which will be the last time we don’t share for a while. The cabins
are a fair size with a bunk, a ‘day bunk’ (a sofa) a desk and a wardrobe. The
routine on board is fairly monotonous, as passengers we aren’t put on either
‘cook’ or ‘gash’ (cleaning) duty so it is a case of trying to keep oneself
busy. Most people have been watching films on their laptops. I have been
sampling the delights of the onboard ‘library’ and varying that with trips to the
bridge, walks on deck, bird watching, eating and sleeping. On Friday the Chief
Engineer, Kim, gave us a tour of the engine room which was very interesting.
The Pharos is a Diesel Electric ship which means that her five engines create
power which is then transformed into the electricity which drives the
propulsion. She was built for the Northern Lighthouse Board (in Scotland) and
so she is incredibly manoeuvrable with rudders that can turn 70° at slow speed
(most rudders only turn about 35°) and an extremely powerful bow thruster which
means that she can go right up alongside buoys and lights to pick them up for
maintenance. She is not ice strengthened but her bow is reenforced to deal with
bumping into buoys.
The birds following the ship are phenomenal. I saw
my fist ever Albatross!! A Black browed Albatross, soon followed by a Wandering
Albatross, one of the biggest birds in the world. Others I have seen include:
Grey-headed Albatross, Giant Petrels. Cape Petrels, Atlantic Petrels, Wilson’s
Storm- petrel and a Prion but I couldn’t identify the species. It really is awe
inspiring to see a Wandering Albatross with a wing span of 2.70-3.25m playing
in the wind around the stern of the ship, swooping alongside and hovering
with a simple shift in feather alignment and to also see the Wilson’s Storm
Petrel doing exactly the same thing but with a wing span of only 0.38-0.42m. I
keep thinking how much my Grandfather would love to see these magnificent
birds.
On Saturday we crossed the Polar Front (or
Antarctic Convergence as it is sometimes called). We are now in really
Antarctic waters, which was proved by the fact that instead of being pelted by
rain on my trip around deck this morning I was pelted with wet snow. I was
rewarded for my snowy sojourn on deck however when I saw a group of about 5 or
6 Antarctic Fur seals swimming alongside the ship, obviously on their way to
South Georgia for the breeding season. The males arrive there in November and
set up territories and the females arrive later in the month. 98% of the world’s
population of Antarctic Fur Seal breeds on South Georgia, more than 3 million.
We arrived
at King Edward Point (KEP) early on Monday morning and now the adventure really
begins!
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