The following notes on anchorages in South Georgia were made during the summer of 1995, when Pete Hill and I circumnavigated South Georgia. . We compiled notes and chartlets for the Royal Cruising Club, which are now available through the RCC Pilotage Foundation, either in the form of a PDF or as an ebook. I intended to put all this information on this blog, and though that I had, but recently I had cause to revisit it only to realise that I’d never completed the job. Better late than never! I decided to finish it so that I could add some more photos and also because anyone who doesn’t know of the RCCPF, but comes across this blog, will learn about the many publications that it now has available. Most of this introduction was written by Pete and myself and reflects the views we held at the time (and I still do).
When I set up this blog, there were more 'theme' on offer and I chose to use a brown typeface for aesthetic reasons. This facility no longer seems to be available and the blog seems to choose brown or black at random. I have found no way to change or standardise the colour, so I'm afraid you will just have to live with it.
The
information that follows is generally unavailable from any other
source. While the UK Admiralty Antarctic
Pilot
is much more useful than is generally the case with such Pilots, most
of the anchorages described below would get no more than a brief
mention. The official charts are not very detailed – indeed, the
ones we used were described at ‘Preliminary charts’ – but even
modern, metric ones, drawn after the Falklands Conflict will,
perhaps, lack some to the information which the sketches provide.
If
you happen to sail a boat under about 40 feet, with just two people
on board, visiting South Georgia is not something that should be
undertaken lightly. Conditions in the Southern Ocean can be extreme
as anyone who has read Gerry Clark's book, The
‘Totorore’ Voyage,
will appreciate. It provides some very sobering accounts of how bad
such sailing can be and anyone interested in cruising South Georgia
should certainly read this book first. Anyone sailing in these
waters ought
be totally self-sufficient and prepared to extricate themselves from
any eventuality. Even with modern commnications, I suspect that
there is no guarantee of rescue, and help should neither be sought
nor expected from the Authorities in Grytviken. It should be
remembered that it is impossible to replenish either stores or fuel
in South Georgia and the boat should be provisioned accordingly.
As
well as being meticulously prepared for sailing in these latitudes, a
yacht's ground tackle must be heavy and reliable. Hurricane force
winds in apparently sheltered anchorages are not uncommon and,
indeed, not one of the anchorages described could fairly be described
as perfectly sheltered from all directions. Adequate ground tackle
that will cope with these conditions, should be carried. This will
mean that the anchors and chain will seem ridiculously oversized for
general cruising. Your life may well depend on it. A large
fisherman anchor, of the Herreshoff style is well worth carrying,
because many anchorage are encumbered with kelp, and these anchors
are one of the few that will hold. While most boats today have an engine that will propel them at least as powerfully as their sails, it is worth being prepared, not in the least because of the risk of kelp tangling an exposed propeller.
Weather
conditions can change with extreme rapidity and a barograph is an
enormously useful aid to weather forecasting. No doubt modern boats
will have onboard access to weather reports, but the changes in South
Georgia are very localised and may not be predictable.
The
accuracy of available charts should not be relied upon. A number of
rocks and shoals are unmarked and there are, apparently, also large
discrepancies in many areas between the position as indicated and
that obtained by GPS. (We always sailed Badger without a GPS.)
The
sketch charts included in these notes are just that. They were drawn
with reference to actual features and the (old) Admiralty charts that
we had on board. While I hope that they show all the pertinent
information, they should be treated with caution. In anticipation of
the metrication of the relevant charts, soundings
are given in metres,
to an approximate mean low water springs level. Heights are also in
metres.
Nearly
all the anchorages are illustrated with a photograph, showing Badger.
This
provides a scale and shows exactly where we dropped our hook. It is
also a memento to this fine, little ship.
 |
| Drygalski Fjord |
The
island of South Georgia lies between latitudes 53o56'S
and 54o55'S
and longitudes 34o45'W
and 38o15'W.
It is very mountainous and over half of its area is permanently
covered in ice and snow. The island lies within the Antarctic
Convergence, which accounts for the severity of the weather. South
Georgia is a British Possession.
The
first recorded sighting of the island was by Antoine de la Roche, a
London merchant, in 1675, but it wasn’t until 1775 that anyone
landed ashore to explore. Captain James Cook carried this out on his
second voyage of discovery.
Exploitation
of South Georgia started in 1786, with the killing of fur seals. The
sealing was so extensive that by 1802 stocks had become too depleted
to make their continued hunting viable.
The
next animals to be exploited were the whales. This period lasted
from 1904 until 1966; again, this was discontinued when the animals
were almost wiped out. Astonishingly, the Norwegian whalers were convinced that the whales had gone elsewhere, refusing to countenance the idea that had been virtually extirpated. Around 1965/66, they laid everybody off, except for a few nightwatchmen, leaving all six whaling stations ready to be opened up again when the whales returned - which, of course, they never did. Apparently, in the early 70s, the stores were like treasure houses, full of ships’ gear, from sextants and compasses, to rope and canvas; the dispensaries still had their drugs and bandages; the cook houses their pots and pans, there was furniture in the dormitories, lathes and woodworking machines, boats and oars, nuts, bolts and pieces of steel, fire bricks and ‛wriggly tin', a blacksmith's shop complete with coal, patterns for the foundry. Much of it is still there and for several years no-one visited and the stations were like a museum, but then came Eastern bloc trawlers, HM forces and other characters. Between them, they systematically wrecked and looted until all that is left are ruins and rubbish, decaying buildings and great heaps of ironmongery.
In
1982, South Georgia was invaded by Argentina at the start of the
Falklands Conflict, but was retaken a few weeks later. A result of
this was that for the next 20 years, a British garrison was
maintained in Grytviken. Thankfully, this is no longer the case and
members of the British Antarctic Survey have taken their place.
Administration
The
Governor of the Falkland Islands usually holds the post of
Commissioner for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands,
although they are administered separately.
Before
visiting South Georgia, permission should first be obtained from the
Commissioner, by writing to him, enclosing a rough itinerary and
basic details of the boat and crew. This is usually a perfectly
straightforward business for a cruising yacht. The address is as
follows: The Commissioner for South Georgia and the South Sandwich
Islands, Government House, Stanley, Falkland Islands, South
Atlantic, via London. I dare say that they can now be contacted via
email and I suspect that there may be a great level of bureaucracy.
If
you are unable to apply in advance, then the boat should proceed
directly to King Edward Point, where permission to cruise the island
may be sought through the Marine Officer. There
used to be a significant ‛entry charge’, of £150 (info as at
2007), payable to the Marine Officer on arrival. I have no idea what
the fee is now, but am sure it will only have increased still
further.
I
believe that some efforts are being made to control the movement of
visitors and restrict them from visiting the old whaling stations.
Ostensibly this is for their own safety, but one wonders it is not
simply that the British Government is rightly ashamed of allowing
such appalling pollution to exist in what should be a pristine
environment. While the old stations are interesting in their way,
they stand as a telling monument to greed, exploitation and
environmental carelessness, which amounts to criminal ecocide in its extent.
Anchorages
When
the wind around South Georgia reaches gale force and above, it can
result in williwaws, which can reach hurricane force, even in an
apparently snug harbour, due to the turbulence produced as the wind
passes over the jagged mountain landscape. In the following notes,
any reference to shelter refers to that protection given from the
sea. As far as I know, every anchorage is subject to violent squalls
in certain circumstances.
The
best weather is to found on the so-called ‘Sunshine Coast’
between Cooper Sound and the Bay of Islands. The NW and SE tips of
the island suffer from a greater amount of overcast and the weather
is generally unsettled. The SW coast is open to the prevailing winds
and is very exposed with few good anchorages - this coast should be
treated with the greatest respect.
 |
| Rounding the SW corner of South Georgia |
Pilot
and Charts
South
Georgia is covered in the Antarctic
Pilot,
published by H M Admiralty. The following charts are also available
from the Admiralty:
Chart
No 3585 Harbours
and Anchorages in South Georgia
Chart
No 3587 Harbours
and Anchorages in South Georgia
Chart
No 3588 Approaches
to Stromness and Cumberland Bays
Chart
No 3596 Approaches
to South Georgia
Chart
No 3597 South
Georgia
This
is a fairly up to date list), but the following notes refer to the
older charts, which were on board Badger
when
we cruised the island. There are fewer charts published for South
Georgia than was once the case and it would be worth getting hold of
superseded, second-hand charts, if possible. As is so often the
case, the old imperial charts show much more detail than the new
metric ones. However, with the plethora of yachts which have visited
the island since the turn of the century, I dare say there are blogs
and vlogs full of information, should you care to look.
Fur
Seals
The
fur seal population has increased dramatically in the last few years
and is now believed to be back to at least its pre-sealing levels on
the Island. Because of this, many of the beaches are packed with fur
seals and these can make trips ashore worrying and occasionally
hair-raising. The worst time is in the breeding season, which is
from October to early January, when the males, in particular, are
very aggressive. Unless you have previous experience, your first
trips ashore can be alarming.
From
our experience, a bodger,
a stick of at least four feet such as a boathook or an oar, should be
carried by each person. Fur seals will often make what appears to be
an attack, but pointing the bodger at them usually halts them and a
light
tap under the chin will deter the more persistent. It
is unnecessary to use force.
You can literally stumble over fur seals amazingly far up the hills,
where they can lie hidden in tussac grass. If you come across one
suddenly, you will both get a fright and the animal’s response is,
not unnaturally, quite aggressive.
The
first time you go ashore, don’t be too ambitious and concentrate on
getting used to the seals and their behaviour. After a while, you
will become more blasé and experienced people almost ignore them.
After the breeding season, they become much less aggressive, but are
still very inquisitive. The pups, in particular, can be quite
enchanting as they come charging out to meet the dinghy when you row
ashore.
Bases
There
were two bases maintained by BAS. Bird Island had a year-round base
with three people overwintering and as many as eight people there
during the summer. The other site is at Grytviken. I am not sure
what the present situation is.
When we visited, there were still two herds of reindeer on the island. These have now been eradicated, although I believe that few of them live on Beaver Island in the Falkland Is, for the purposes of study.
One of the happiest events in South Georgia in recent years, was the successful attempt at eliminating rats. These laid waste to vast numbers of birds on the main island and those within swimming distance, as well as damaging the vegetation. I would like to think that the birds are making a good recovery - or at least as good a recovery as can be expected with the climate catastrophe and the dangers from commercial fishing. For me, undoubtely the best aspect of South Georgia was the wonderful birds, which were even more marvellous than the spectacular scenery.
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