SOUTH GEORGIA CRUISING NOTES

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 53^o56'S and 54^o55'S and longitudes 34^o45'W and 38^o15'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.