Sailed overnight from New Island bound for Steeple Jason where we were hoping to make a landing. Good winds and reasonable sea conditions allowed us to make good time. There were no formal watches but captain asked for volunteers so I stood up for 04.00 to 06.00 hoping for another special sunrise, didn’t work out though 🙁 . Steeple Jason’s claim to fame is that it is home to the largest breeding colony of Black Browed Albatross’ in the world. Oh no, I feel more Albatross pictures coming on :-). This island is also infamous for the reason that it is a very hard island to land on. When we arrived at the anchorage the sea was still running rather high but after a quick reccy our guide decided that a landing was possible and selected a small sheltered cove (just big enough for the Zodiac to fit) with shelving rocks that we could step out onto. So, in actual fact the landing was quite smooth despite the heavy swell running we didn’t even get wet!
Heading for Steeple Jason with sun rising behind Taking a picture of one of the islands through the murk when I was photo-bombed by a Fin WhaleCommerson’s Dolphins taking a look at usComing of the dayThe white specs are Albatrosses. Overall the colonies spread along the coast of Steeple Jason contains in excess of 150,000 breeding pairs of Black Browed Albatross, over 70% of the world populationSea Lion bull with hareem guarding beachStriated Caracara guarding his patchEuropa standing off shoreGentoo comfortable on nestCaracara fly by
Black Browed Albatross are generally monogamous with pairs returning to the same nest site year upon year but if one of a pair does not return for one or two seasons the surviving partner will pair up with another. Bonds between partners are reinforced by courtship rituals. They can live up to 70 years and start breeding at approximately 10 years old.
You and me babe, what about it?Oh, OK thenJust checking out the actionA small section of the colonyWhat’s behind the colonyA view down the island with adjacent island behindHeading homeAt anchor but with sails unfurled ready to go
Bidding the Albert Ross’s as sad farewell we headed back to the Europa and prepared to sail to our next destination, New Island. With a South Westerly wind of up to 40knots this was the first time that the Europa really got into her stride, heeled well to port and making 10 to 12 knots she handled beautifully. On this leg I also learned a lesson on preparedness, we had safety lines out on deck a I was holding onto one of these whilst chatting to one of the other voyage crew when we noticed an unusually large wave coming our way. To reduce the wave’s impact I ducked into it, a big mistake! I was wearing my full waterproof but had the hood down and the top of the jacket open consequently, the water took the route of least resistance entering at the top of my jacket and exiting at the bottom. Drowned rat does do my condition justice but, at least my legs were dry.
Another occurrence on this leg was that we overhauled a yacht that was also heading for Hope Harbour on New Island and, next morning when we met the sailor, it turned out that he was an ex Europa crew member (from 10 years ago) and he took some pictures of us that he gladly shared – below. This was a great bonus as, of course, we never got to see the ship under sail so it was good to see how fine she looked.
Arrival at New Island in the Falklands was an emotional event for one of the voyage crew, Roger, as he had been here immediately after the Falklands War as air traffic control in the RAF, this was his first time back and, on the outlying islands he was to meet of few of the locals he remembered from those earlier days.
New Island was the first of many landings (don’t panic, we did not visit all 700 islands 🙂 ) we were to make and landings by Zodiac (rigged hulled inflatable), Penguins and Albatrosses were destined to feature heavily over the next 10 days. In the following I will share, by individual posts by Island, some of the pictures and impressions of the locations in which we found ourselves, WARNING – heavy bird content!
At the end of the series I’ll try to leave you with my overall thoughts and impressions on The Falklands, or should it be Malvinas?
New Island:- we made two landings on New Island, one at Coffin’s Harbour next to the settlement and one at Ship Harbour. Both were beach landings (there are some beautiful beaches in The Falklands) in relatively calm sea conditions. We had had a lot of build-up and safety briefings on these beach landings but in the end they were quite smooth and nowhere near as challenging as we might have been led to believe, probably due to the preparation and professionalism of the boat pilots and the two guides who always reccied the landing and then landed first to hold Zodiacs close into the landing.
Landing at Coffin’s Harbour (named after a Nantucket whaling family) adjacent to a wreck and the whaling museum. In the 17th, 18th & early 19th centuries the Falklands were a centre for harvesting of seals and penguins for their fat (blubber) and New Island also had a short lived whaling station but, as the whales were far more numerous further south this was soon closed down in favour of South Georgia. A visit to the small museum was interesting but also quite sobering when you consider the impact the industry had on the populations of seals, whales and penguins some of which have never recovered to their previous levels and, due to mans impact on the environment of the Antarctic fisheries (including krill) and global warming, are unlikely to do so. The museum was opened for us by a South African lady who, along with her ‘Cornish Man’ partner, is a custodian of the island employed by the conservation trust that owns it. I managed to have a chat with the custodian and asked how it was living in what I assumed would be a pretty desolate location in the winter with little contact with the outside world. Her amused response was that the isolation, beauty and abundance of nature were the major draw – yeh, think I could survive here too. Interestingly, they live a semi-subsistence lifestyle with a small vegetable patch (under a poly tunnel) and harvesting resource from on and around the island. Theirs’s was probably the most exposed settlement on any of the islands.
From the museum we walked across the neck to visit colonies of Black Browed Albatross, Rockhopper Penguins and King Cormorants.
The settlement – inviting? and this is summer.Male Kelp Gooseand the wifeLocal ducks, Speckled Teal?Lrbbj – Little red breasted brown job – actually Long Tailed Meadow LarkFence post remnant of former farming activity (mainly sheep) with ample lichen indicative of the very good air quality.Colourful rock coverBlack Browed Albatross colonyRockhopper Penguins – a proud mumNeighbourly disputesNest in the rocksQuick clean up for the camera Photographer gets the evil eyeKing CormorantOld blue eyes – these birds also have brilliant sheen to their plumageThe homemakerHeading for the cliffsA last one The Black Browed Albatross colonyThe aeronautsOn the nestFalkland Skua – the Hyena of the seabird coloniesNow a little sceneryI’m outa here Road to the settlement, gorse is an invasive alien introduced from Europe but adds a nice splash of colour.Wreck with Europa in the background. The wreck is apparently that of a sealing vessel beached in 1969And finally, a natural artwork. Do you see the penguin
New Island stage II, landing at the ship harbour and walking around North Bluff. Terrain here was wilder and home to two different species of penguin, Gentoo and Magellanic. As the Magellanics nest in burrows care has to be taken when navigating their colonies to avoid unplanned below ground excursions.
Landing by Zodiac, guides Jordi and Maria holding boat in position as voyage crew member Michael steps ashore.Jordi getting up-close Sea shore lifeStriated Caracara – carrion recycling facility North Bluff scenery – small freshwater lake and sea beach beyondMagellanic penguins at entrance to their burrowMore evidence of past farmingGentoos don’t like SkuasGentoo colonyGentoos also like a day out on the beach but…….Sea Lions like Gentoosand they can surfThan, Gentoos can jumpand sometimes run. Skuas are hoping for crumbsThese guys remind me of Wildebeest at the Mara river, no one volunteering to go firstSome spectators – members of crew and voyage crewAdmiring the sceneryGentoo out for a walkand leaving his mark on the sandAmazing cliffscapes and small thingsTeam on the cliffsEuropa in the landscapeBeing buzzed by an Albatross – Paul, Piet and MoniqueLanding gear downSitting aroundMagellanics admiring EuropaMore of nature’s art work, this time sculpture – pterodactyl?Leopard SealTake only pictures leave only footprints
So, first impressions gained from first island – stunning scenery, approachable unique wildlife and friendly locals. Certainly a wonderful place to visit, could I live here. Probably could have done when I was younger.
