Happy end of March to you all.
Its significant for me because I have now been working in the Falklands for two years - so one year to go! So if any one wants to offer me a job in a few months time - please feel free!
Also March was significant because I visited South Georgia courtesy of the Royal Navy when I went there on HMS Clyde. Clyde is a River Class patrol ship - so quite small and the South Atlantic seas are quite big so we had a bumpy ride with 5-6 metre waves on the way down to SG.
On the way down I shared the cabin shown below with 4 others and on the way back with 5. Mine was the bottom bunk on the left.
SG hasbeen described as being like the Alps sliced off and placed in the South Atlantic. Below is the view from Clyde as we approached - the man in the bow is looking out for small icebergs called 'growlers' which are hard to spot and mainly under the surface - but can still put a hole in a ship.
I saw some wildlife I haven't seen before on SG including fur seals - which are aggressive seals that will chase you and bite you and you haveto scare them off. In the briefing before landing we were shown gruesome pictures of peoples hands and feet thathad been bitten and were infected. However the seals themselves looked very cute.
We also saw Chinstrap Penguins - see if you can guess why they are called that? Apparently they are quite rare.
HMS Clyde moored at anchor for the first night and then the next morning berthed alongside King Edward Point - which is where the British Antartic Survey have a base - as does the SG government.
I went for a lovely long walk up a hill called Brown Mountain and got some spectacular views into SG and back to where the Clyde was moored. It was a rare sunny warm day and I was able to walk in a T-shirt. (Obviously had warm and waterproof clothing with me as the weather can change rapidly.)
Near KEP is an old whaling station called Grytviken which is quietly rusting away.Below is a picture of one of the boats that was used to spot and harpoon the whales. You can see the harpoon at the bow and the lookout would be in the crows nest on the top of the mast. These boats are quite small and must have been very scarey to sail in the big seas around SG.
The other highlight of the trip was getting up close to icebergs on the Clyde's rigid raider. These little boats are designed to land 8 marines at high speed. They can do about 40 knots! So we donned our survival suits and flew over the water to see the icebergs in Cumberland Bay. Apparently without a suit - you have less than 10 minutes...
After a final dinner of reindeer we left SG the following morning for the three and a half day sail back. On the way we sailed under some high pressure and the sea became like glass. So the crew decided to play 'bucket ball' on the flight deck. It was described as a non-contact game - so I joined in - it turned out to be a combination between net ball and rugby. I got taken out by a senior rating and managed to chip a bone in my ankle and tear the ligaments - it is slowly getting better!
Any way - enoughfrom me for now. I hope all is well with you all and hope to hear from some of you.
Love Mark.
