The Beginning of Departures

And so starts the beginning of the end. Yesterday Jo and Nik left. They both return to the Falklands and from there to the UK through different routes. Nik will return to Bangor and start work there, Jo starts her leave by heading almost immediately off to Spain. She will however return here in March for 8 months.

On Monday Erny and I had finished everything we could in the boatshed on the engine so we put it back into Pipit. It was a slightly nervewracking experience, especially since the wind meant that the JCB couldn’t be exactly square onto the boat. We managed it in the end and started the process of reattaching everything. On Tuesday this was complete and we fired her up. She started at the first push of the button which was very reassuring. We did discover a leak in the fuel stop solenoid which had been badly fitted at the factory. Slightly worrying since they had run it in in the factory but Erny soon fixed it. 

              Micky has a new workmate    Photo: M. Sutcliffe

 As soon as we had finished on Tuesday I headed after Hazel and Jo to Maiviken. They had gone ahead since I didn’t know how long I would be. I managed to make it over to the hut in 45 mins form the church, including putting on and taking off snowshoes. I was pretty impressed with myself actually. Coming up to Deadman’s Pass I was puffing, panting and generally feeling terribly unfit but then I looked at my watch and realised that I was probably allowed to feel a little tired. I was greeted by a nice pewter mug of gin and tonic and we had a lovely ‘sundowner’ outside the hut. This was our last night away together and it was a lovely one. We even managed to have poppadoms on the menu in the hut, which is probably a first for South Georgia,  and they were delicious. 

The next day was such a lovely day that we decided to go down to Maiviken and see what we wanted to do from there. We first devoured a couple of bacon sandwiches since the curry the night before obviously wasn’t enough. We even made one for Daniel who had arrived over for his penguin egg count. This is the season in which he has the most work; from now on he has to come over to Maiviken every other day, whether to check on the Gentoo colony or to do a seal count.

While it was a beautiful day it was incredibly windy so in the morning we stayed low. We sat on the top of a small cliff and watched some wonderful Sooty Albatrosses on their nests. Suddenly there was a swoop above us and there was one coming in to land. It was very gusty so he had to make several attempts, spending all in all about 10/15 mins banking and wheeling and trying to land. He did most of this with his ‘landing gear’ flapping in the wind. It was  incredible to have this majestic bird swooping so close to our heads that if we had put our hands out we would have touched him. Eventually he landed and, looking exceptionally pleased with himself, settled down for the day.  

                                               Sooty soaring                    Photo: H. Woodland

 

                                             Landing gear down               Photo: H. Woodland

At that point none of us were ready to return to base yet so we decided to go back up to Spencer Ridge, where Hazel and I had gone last weekend. This time we decided to go up via the tussock rather than the scree and it was much nicer. We spent a very windy hour or so on the top and then reluctantly decided it was probably time to head for home. It was so windy that I could lean with pretty much all of my weight into the wind and still stay on my feet. It was quite a broad ridge so it was safe. I jumped off one bit of rock and found myself landing much further along than normal due to flying in the wind. We returned home to a delicious dinner at Carse House cooked by Sarah to say goodbye to Jo and Nik. It was lovely and I enjoyed conversation with new people (the museumees).

Thursday and Friday were a blur of tidying up the boatshed etc. On Friday Jo, Hazel and I wandered up to Sooty Bluff for a last walk together. The time has finally come when enough Fur Seals have returned that one needs a bodger to walk to Sooty Bluff, just to tickle them under the chin if they start to look a little aggressive. I seem to have found my niche in the Hazel/Jo/Ella friendship: I bring laughter as people laugh at me falling over and I am the shield for the other two to wander along the beach with. We were prevented from getting all the way to Sooty Bluff by one large male with ‘crazy eyes’, we decided it was not worth trying to get past him. It was a really lovely walk though. That night we had a BBQ. It was unfortunately distinctly cold but good none the less.

It was with a heavy heart on Saturday that I wandered down to the jetty with Jo to say goodbye. I know that I will see her again (if only because she has invited me to spend some time with her in Spain) but it really did feel like the beginning of the end of my time here. We have had so many adventures together, had such great times and become such firm friends that it was a real wrench to say goodbye.

The rest of the Saturday was beset by a snow storm. This was very fitting since whenever Jo went on holiday the sun always shone and it seemed as if South Georgia was crying for her departure. I spent most of the day in the kitchen, helping Hazel with her Saturday cook. I also managed to clean and rearrange my room and bath room in preparation for Hazel moving in for a couple of days at the end of this week to make room for the new lot coming in and then for Julie (the new Doc) with whom I will be sharing till I leave. Dinner was a real success: black pudding on a bed of grated carrot and beetroot with melted brie and salami slices on top served with onion chutney. Then a chicken pie with mash, green beans and broad beans. To top it all off we had rhubarb crumble with custard. Perfect.

Today (Sunday) Hazel, Micky and I got out of the house early to make the most of the weather and headed up Hodges. This is a peak directly behind Grytviken, hovering over the whole cove like a benevolent giant. There are three possible routes and we decided to go straight up the front face. It was fine until we hit a snow slope which we needed to traverse. Luckily we had brought ice axes because without them we wouldn’t have been able to go up that route. Now,  I don’t like heights at all and we had to kick steps into the slope traversing it. It was pretty steep and at the bottom of this slope are cliffs and air. I have to admit that I kept my head down, looking at my steps and tried to keep my breathing level. I was very pleased when that section was over. The only other ‘bad’ bit was a bit of a scrambly climb over a step to move onto another slope. This would have been fine in normal circumstances but this is South Georgia and you can put your hand onto what looks like solid rock for it to crumble at your finger tips. I did not want that to happen while climbing. Again all was fine and we made it to the very windy summit after a couple of hours from starting. 

                                      The base from half-way up           Photo: H. Woodland

                                            Scree is unpleasant                    Photo: M. Sutcliffe

At the top

We had lunch tucked under the peak and then returned down the other side of the peak into Boulder Pass and then down Deadman’s. It was as usual a lovely day and I thoroughly enjoyed myself (except when slightly scared). Going up Hodges was the last thing that I had on my list of things to do so I was very pleased I managed it. The only thing marring the day was the fact that Jo wasn’t there with us.

By this time next week the new folk will have arrived, we will have started handover and the countdown to coming home, a rather sobering thought. I am looking forward to this week though and am waiting to see what it will bring.

In honour of it being Remembrance Sunday as I write this:

“We will remember them”

Engines and Ellies

So starts the last month of my time in South Georgia. I am not going to dwell on it too much but since I woke up this morning remembering that fact I thought I would share it.

Last week Erny and I decided that Pipit’s port engine was so far gone that we had to remove it and change it for the spare one. This meant we spent Tuesday and Wednesday undoing and removing every bit of wiring, piping, hardware and everything that attached the engine to the boat. We also made some swift calculations about how heavy the engine was (1 ton) and what would be able to lift it (the JCB). On Wednesday it was the moment of truth and Joe carefully lifted the engine out using the JCB. It swung gently and with careful handling by Erny and myself we made sure it didn’t graze anything as it came out. We then took it into the boatshed, set it down on some stands and started the work of transferring everything that we had borrowed from the spare engine back over to the new engine. This included the starter motor, alternator, turbocharger, radiator cap and other bits and pieces. We also removed some fancy electronics which the spare engine has since it is a new engine which the other 3 don’t have. This includes glow plugs and a fancy coolant temperature sensor. We don’t actually have a mode for glow plugs in the starter system on the jetbaots because we keep the engines warm anyway so it would just have been confusing. All we have to do now is change the mountings from the old engine to the new one (which doesn’t have any on at the moment) and then we will be ready to replace it. I am not sure when this is going to happen since we need a calm day to ensure the boat doesn’t move around too much and the forecast is not good for the rest of the week but we will figure it out. 

Where the engine was

Slightly nerve-wracking ........

 While working out on the boat we were kept company by some Ellies. There was one big male who kept swimming around the boats checking out what was going on which was pretty cool. There are also now weaners (pups who have weaned) littered about the place. I thought they would all wean around the same time but we still have pups being born and suckling with their thick black fur and weaners in different stages of moult all together. There was one weaner who lay exactly where we get onto the boats. She just slept and didn’t seem to notice whenever we walked past (or sometimes over) her. She was very sweet so I named her Nellie the Ellie and she has been very companionable. 

Checking on our work

Nellie the Ellie

Sleeping Nellie

 On Friday Hazel and I took Jo out to the last transhipping of the season. We had to go out in Prion. She still smokes a huge amount but once I get over that embarrassment it is quite cool, we have our very own smoke machine and Jo climbs up the pilot ladder out of it just like a stuntman in a film.

After that we had to go and pick up Rod and Nik from Sorling where they were staying after coming back from St Andrews. I decided that I was sick and tired of the jetboats so we went in 2 RIBs. It felt very good to be in a RIB again and I very much enjoyed the trip over and back. Just as Hazel and I were about to beach to collect them I noticed a large shape swimming under my bow. It took me a couple of seconds to realise that it was a male Ellie swimming under me, he obviously hadn’t noticed the boat and since we were only in about 3 feet of water I had to go into reverse so as not to hit him, which luckily I didn’t, and I noticed him a little later watching with interest our doings as we got them aboard.

On Saturday Daniel took Hazel over to Maiviken to show her how to count penguin eggs since he was heading off to Prion Island on Sunday to count albatross chicks. I followed them at a gentler pace with the new Museumees. It was their first walk on the island and boy did they have a good day for it. The cloud in the morning had hung low and the whole place looked a little cut off at the knees but then the sun burnt the cloud off and we were treated to one of those spectacular days where the sun just makes everything even more magical than normal. The view as you pop up over Deadmans Pass always takes my breath away but I love watching it through new people’s eyes as they experience the glory of South Georgia for the first time. We went down and joined Daniel and Hazel, who had finished their work, and we all had lunch sitting pretty close to the penguins. It was Josie’s birthday and she was rather bowled over by it. I have to say sitting in the sunshine eating with penguins is one of the things I am going to miss about this place, even the smell of the guano. 

Maiviken from above

 After lunch Hazel and I decided to try and get onto the ridge to the right of Maiviken. Very sensibly, looking at the rather nasty scree slope they would have to tackle, the museumees said no thank you and went down to the beach with Daniel to see the seals. We scrambled up the scree (I had forgotten how much I dislike scree slopes) and eventually, after much sliding and cursing, got onto the top of the ridge. It was a spectacular view down to the other side of the peninsula and beyond, out to sea. We saw a yacht come in and she looked miniscule. 

On top of the ridge

 We wandered along the ridge to the end and there sat and relaxed for a bit, alternately chatting and dozing and just enjoying the view. At 1600, knowing we had to sign in back on base by 1800, we finally decided to wend our way back. Wend was the word along the top, not so much on the scree slope. I managed to scree surf which sounds much better than it actually is, I was not sure I would be able to stop. We made it down in one piece and headed home for a Halloween themed Saturday night cook.

On Sunday the weather was miserable so I messed around in the Chippy Shop, Jo Hazel and I watched ‘Creation’ about Darwin and then we and Nik had been invited to dinner at Druken Villa (the museum residence in Grytviken) where we had a lovely evening full of laughs and jollity. All in all it was a great end to the week.

This Saturday Jo and Nik leave which is going to be very sad. We had better make the most of our time together. 

The funky clouds have started

Visits and Vistas

Last week was an incredible busy but very rewarding one. In the end it was right down to the line whether we got Pat and Sarah back in time for the Naval visits or not. We finally managed to head out to them on Tuesday morning, early and although the wind picked up slightly we managed to get them and bring them home to everyone’s relief. It had been weighing rather on my mind. Just after they arrived RFA Black Rover arrived and we started the long process of naval visits. Black Rover didn’t have any of their own boats so we ran them ashore. Since they are a merchant vessel they have much fewer people on board than a naval vessel (only 57 on board the Black Rover which is the same size as HMS Richmond which has 180 people on board). This meant that we could do ‘bus times’ and get people ashore and aboard pretty easily. Someone at the top of the ladder said “you’ll have a lot tomorrow morning” to which I asked “How many?” “Ten” she said at which point Daniel and I laughed and said that for us and a naval visit, 60 was a lot.

Charity shot. Note ridiculous snowshoes

On Wednesday we went from high winds and sea conditions to flat calm and a snow storm. The snow was so heavy that I had to use Radar to be able to find the Black Rover which was anchored only about 1 nautical mile off the jetty. It was very disorientating and with Rod at the helm we found ourselves heading out to sea rather than back into the bay but that was quickly rectified. We had been in the middle of our spring thaw and had been able to see the ground nearly everywhere but during this one day of snow everything was covered again and we even considered shutting the track again. It was remarkable.

On Thursday as soon as the Black Rover had left, the HMS Richmond came in hot on her heels. This was her second visit in a month and this time they had returned carrying Hugh, the postmaster and three new Museum staff: Chris and Josie, the new museum helpers and Suzane the new curatorial intern. They are all lovely and after leaving them in a little bit of a daze in biosecurity I had to run to return to the Richmond to collect Jo and Rod who I had taken on board for a briefing and with them collect Russell La Forte, the Commander of the British Forces in the South Atlantic, his wife Jillian and his ADC Tom. They all got a tour and then Jo gave them a hasty lunch in Shack Villa before we took them over to Grytviken to visit the museum and church.

That evening Rod and Sue were invited on board the Richmond along with Pat and Sarah for a VIP dinner. We had 6 chaps come ashore to us for dinner for us to say thank you for hosting us to Penguin racing when they were last in. It was a lovely dinner and they were massively appreciative of our “real mashed potato, made with real potatoes?” Apparently they get ‘Smash’ on board. It was lovely to be able to host a dinner as BAS, usually it is the government that host the dinner but this time it was all on us which was nerve-wracking for poor old Hazel who was on cook on Thursday (especially when we discovered that one of the guests was a leading chef) but very nice to be able to do.

Gentoos on nests

On Friday Hazel, Jo and I took 7 chaps from the ship to Maiviken. Unfortunately we didn’t have enough snowshoes so they had to use ‘tennis rackets’ from the military days which were ridiculous and their feet kept falling out of but it was better than them having to trudge through knee deep snow. We made it to Maivken in good time and went down to have a look at the Gentoo colony and then further down to have a look at the beach and give them a closer look at the Ellies. They were rather startled at the size of the males. Although the weather clagged in when we returned it was an excellent walk and they all said how much they had enjoyed it.

After that rather busy and very tiring week Hazel, Jo and I decided the best way to relax would be to pack up all we needed in rather large packs and walk across the peninsula, over the mountain range in the middle on the hunt for a cave that we had heard alot about. It is called Curlew Cave and can be found in Carr Valley. Tim and Pauline Carr sailed down here in their yacht ‘Curlew’ and stayed for 14 years running the museum etc. They used to kayak around the coast and Curlew Cave was where they would stash their kayaks as a base to explore the Western side of the peninsula.

Climbing No Name Col

Top of No Name Col

On top of the World

Luckily we emailed them and got detailed instructions of how to get there or I am not sure we ever would have found the cave. We headed up past the lakes over Maiviken to No Name Col. We were a little worried about this because we had done it earlier in the season with Rod and it had required ice axes and crampons and was altogether rather unpleasant, we were not sure we wanted to do that with large packs on our back but in the end with further investigation of the map and the Carr’s instructions we found that we had actually gone up the wrong col with Rod. It was a much easier and more enjoyable route up and the view down into Carr valley was definitely worth the slog with the large packs. We dropped down into the valley and dumped our gear.

Carr Valley

 

 We immediately started to look for the cave. This involved going down a rather steep and unpleasant tussock slope with a couple of dead ends, dropping off into cliffs. We eventually found our way down to a beach and from there we found the slit in the rock that is the landward entrance. It is an amazing cave and I can see why they used and loved it. We have had some remarkably high tides recently so the floor had recently been awash, that and the Carr’s warning that they weren’t sure about the roof meant that we decided to camp in the valley above but we were very pleased to have found it.

Entrance to Curlew Cave

Curlew Cave

 We then spent a happy hour or so watching the Sooty Albatrosses wheeling above our heads and landing on nesting ledges. They fly in pairs; formation flying in extremely graceful and beautiful turns and wheels. It was glorious. As we climbed the tussock slope to get back to the valley we were able to stop and watch a chap on his nest preening himself and calling. It is such a privilege to be able to get so close to them and for these magnificent birds to be so completely oblivious to our presence. It was really humbling actually. Hazel very nearly didn’t bring the big lens for her camera but luckily we persuaded her that it was worth it and she had a big grin on her face for the entire time we were over there (one of the things she most wanted to do was to manage to photograph Sooties on a nest and there we were meters from them).

So Beautiful (A Sooty Albatross)

Sooty Photo by Hazel Woodland

While the valley was extremely flat and green it was really rather damp everywhere so we had to try and find the flattest, driest patch we could to pitch our tent. The flattest we could find happened to be a slope of about 15-20’. Not the most comfortable. Jo had a ridge in her back which stopped her from sliding down, Hazel had an extremely non slip thermarest but I found myself curled up in the foetal position at the bottom of the slope most of the night. Hazel and Jo said that in the morning they turned to look at each other and realised that there was something missing in the middle: me. It was very funny.

Down in Carr Valley

The hike back up to the col was not the most pleasant with all our gear, including a now wet and therefore heavier tent but we were met at the top by Micky who had come bearing bacon sandwiches! A real knight in shinning armour. At the top the cloud came in and we couldn’t see anything but luckily we could just follow our footsteps back down the hill. We got home much earlier than anticipated and after a well deserved shower we took Rod and Nik to Sorling so that they could have an early start on their way over to St Andrews on Monday.

Tea on the way home Photo by Hazel Woodland

All in all it has been a very enjoyable week for a number of different reasons. Let’s see what next week brings us.