We have arrives on South Georgia. Last night around 22:00 local time, we anchored at Rosita Harbour. Not a place where we could or wanted to go ashore, but a perfect sheltered bay, away from the North Westerly swell.
Up till the last 3 hours before we arrived, the wind stayed with us and kept us at a nice pace. During the night a fog had set in, so with ice on our minds, we had a look out on the front and back and kept on going with 8 to 9 knots. During the afternoon a drizzle started that turned into rain and the fog lifted somewhat. But not enough for us to see any land, even though it was only 8 miles away. As we got closer and closer the fog lifted a bit further and our visibility increased to one mile maybe two. Just enough to see all the wild life that was welcoming us to South Georgia.
It was absolutely amazing, breathtaking and mind boggling to see so much life in the air and in the water. Fur seals were everywhere! They stuck their small heads out of the water to see what was going on and then tried to keep up with us, swimming and jumping through the water. Then there were the penguins, shy but in great number. There were albatrosses, sooty, light mantled, great wanderers, grey headed, they all made an appearance. There were wilsons storm petrel, giant storm petrels, white chinned petrels and even a few skua’s! And just when we thought it could not get any better, the whales showed up! We had seen some spouts around, but the visibility was too bad to really see any fins or identify them.. But they made it easy for us, five humpback whales took turns breaching and splashing back in the water. Giant animals, shooting into the air and making the best splash they could. It was truly mesmerizing. We were standing in the rain, in the cold evening air, but nobody realized, because we were looking at these magnificent animals, with in the background dark sharp edged rocks rising from the water, South Georgia.
We anchored, cleaned up the deck, listened to the howls or sort of screams of the fur seals on shore and wondered what kind of place this was that we had come to. After a beer and a laugh, we went to bed and had a long nice and quiet nights rest. This morning we left for Salisbury plaine in the Bay of Isles. This is the home to over 250.000 king penguin and fur seals. We landed the dinghy after bio-security check and cleaning, and went for a short hike. The landing was interesting as the seals live on the beach and the only way on land is to find a quiet spot and pass them silently and quickly. Then there were the penguin. So so many, heading for the water to hunt, or staying on shore in the safety of the dry land as they mold. Their old feathers blowing away and passing the anchorage of the Tecla – a sea of white and yellow.
Right now we are on our way to Olav Harbour. Here we will go for another wander around the harbour and stay for the night.
Hi. Please say hello to Andy for us. David and Geraldine, Brisbane, Australia.