M/S ENDEAVOUR: EXPEDITION THROUGH THE SOUTH ATLANTIC RIDGE ISLANDS
(Part 1: Run-up and Departure)
By J. Brock (SARTMA)
Sparsely populated South Atlantic Islands are remote destinations that many dream of visiting but few get the chance. SARTMA gets e-mails from people who want to visit. But making that visit a reality is an adventure not to be missed as each Island has a unique character and atmosphere. Exciting though it is the journey is fraught with difficulties, not the least, reaching a remote Island only to discover that sea conditions are too rough to make a landing. Nevertheless, each journey has a beginning and SARTMA’s – mine – began in Stanley, Falkland Islands.
When James Glass, Chief Islander and Acting Administrator on Tristan da Cunha mentioned that I might be able to come to visit him and the family whilst on a tour of the South Atlantic Ridge, I was sorely tempted. James, Felicity, Norman and Sarah had been my friends for ten years and it would be good to touch bases again after all this time. Indeed, when Felicity’s sister, Sandra was ill, there was a rather quick encounter with her on the football pitch in Stanley just before they took off in a Sea King helicopter for Mount Pleasant and north to the UK via the RAF Tri-star. How many years would it be before I see them again, I wondered.
Just any excuse and I would be knocking on Jenny Forrest’s office door. Thanks to timely e-mails from Tristan, it didn’t take long for the bush telegraph to get cranked up. Greta from Fisheries called to ask if I would take some documents to Tristan and a later e-mail asked if I could make arrangements with Monsignor Michael McPartland to take a supply of much needed Host for the Island’s Catholics. The phone rang again and it was Roma Reive – would I take a package to her Godson and mail for others on Tristan.
Jenny got that knock sooner rather than later. Yes, Lindblad had a tour through the South Atlantic Ridge Islands on M/S ENDEAVOUR that would firstly stop at South Georgia, then to Tristan, St. Helena and Ascension Island. Old wheels started grinding. Pat, Sarah, Tim and Pauline on South Georgia, James and his family on Tristan, Phyllis and Daggy on St. Helena, Sylvia, Shirley, Betty, Mickey, Sawdust and Renne on Ascension. It was fixed! There would be a small price to pay – a series of articles about each Island’s fishery. Plans to interview Pat Lurcock and Katherine Ross on South Georgia, Tristan da Cunha’s Director of Fisheries, Gerald Benjamin and Emma George on St. Helena and the Administrator on Ascension Island were arranged.
On departure day I went to Mass at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Stanley, where Monsignor McPartland consecrated the Host that I would be taking to Tristan. Then it was back to the flat to finish packing and crunch time with Charlie. Seeing many tins of cat food and several bags of litter might have given the game away. Perhaps he sensed my departure because he jumped in the suitcases and followed me everywhere – to the shop – while visiting friends – in Church and at Government House, where he took up vigil just outside the office entrance. Two of my neighbours would look after him while I was away, but his adventures while I was traversing the South Atlantic are another story. In the end, I had to lock him in the flat while Monsignor McParlland loaded my luggage in his Land Rover for the trip to FIPASS where I joined the ship. I found out later that Judy, my near neighbour, let him out after I left.
M/S ENDEAVOUR had finished bunkering by the time Monsignor and I arrived. That bunkering was important because there would be no opportunities to refuel until M/S ENDEAVOUR reached Cape Verde. More on that later. Luggage and me were efficiently stowed in a comfortable single cabin just before lunch. There was time to explore before sitting down for my first meal since the night before. I was famished!
Departure for South Georgia happened during the dessert course. I had made this leg of the journey before, on RFA SIR BEDEVERE in March of 1986. Like then, we had a following wind, so the sea was kind to us. As we slipped past the Cape Pembroke lighthouse, I made my way to the bridge where I met Sven Thorell, the Radio Officer, who, like myself, is a keen communicator. It was good to chat with him about the South Atlantic as he had been working with Lindblad Expeditions for many years and knew the people he contacted via the airwaves. His help in organising my interviews with fisheries officials on the Islands was much appreciated.
After the safety briefing, the first recap took place in the Lounge. Hearing about the Island where you live through the words of learned lecturers was a baffling but enjoyable experience. For the most part, they got it right and I found the material informative and helpful, especially when it came to the project that I was doing with the fisheries. As we went through the recap on the Falklands I discovered that there was enthusiasm for the place and that the lecturers had spent many hours doing research on their area of expertise. The letters PhD after their names was the rule, rather than the exception. I am grateful to them for their technical advice and keen interest in my project.
Those lecturers included Tom Richie, a professional naturalist and expedition leader, Peter Carey, a zoologist, Gary James, an expert on natural history, David Barnes, a historian, and James Kelly, a geologist. Especially helpful was David Cothran, a diver who identified species of fish he filmed in the South Atlantic. Along with the lecturers were two musicians, Geoffery Haydock and Penelope Smith Haydock Tim Severin, an explorer, author and filmmaker, and Darren Mann, who chronicled the journey with a DVD, yet to be received.
Pictures © J. Brock (SARTMA) "Charlie," "James Glass and his family," "Monsignor Michael McPartland"
In Part 2, M/S ENDEAVOUR reaches the Shag Rocks.
