Position  51:41.52 S  057:49.19 W

Still here in the Falkland Islands, after catching a bit of sun yesterday.  The temperature rose to 5 degrees which made a nice change from the recent sub zero blizzard conditions.  I have got to know Stanley very well, walking everywhere during day time, so that I can fully appreciate the area.

I am really enjoying the photo opportunities here, and am trying to get the best from my new camera.  I have been very pleased with the results, particularly some of the low light pictures such as the “Hulk at Stanley” as on the previous positing.  It did take me about 30 shots to get that one, because I didn’t have a tripod so I had to keep the camera still for 3.5 seconds, no easy feat, still that is the beauty of digital, snap away and then delete any unwanted.  I haven’t actually deleted any yet, and so on this trip I have taken over 3000 photos, which can be a bit boring looking through.  Last night I was looking though some in more detail, and putting the best ones into a favourite file, when I saw something on one of the photos, that I hadn’t actually seen in real life.  After zooming in it has been officially identified as a penguin, probably a Magellan Penguin, so I am really happy, but still can’t really say that I have seen one.  The camera I have been using is a Canon EOS 30D, for which I have a couple of lenses, which has allowed me to fulfil most of my needs, and I can’t wait to get some great shots back home as well.

Yesterday (29^th), was the 25^th Anniversary of the liberation of Goose Green, back in the UK it will probably be referred to as the Battle of Goose Green, during which Colonel H Jones was killed and posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.  Over the next few weeks there are a series of “liberation ceremonies” as the residents, families, and returning soldiers celebrate, and remember the occupation, battles, liberation and most importantly lost comrades, friends and loved ones.  It is a special time to visit the Falklands.

The RYA teaching is coming along much better, with Ken now through most of the course, and 2 others through the chartwork assessment.  The 2 non English speaking Russians are working very hard to get up to speed, so hats off to them, but it is still extremely difficult for me to see if they understand it, other than by if they end up with the right result.  Putting mistakes right is almost impossible.  Before joining the trip, my understanding was that they all spoke English, and could navigate to Day Skipper standard.  This has been far from the case, so I would have to think carefully about whether I would recommend to any of my friends to teach on this trip, unless there were some better ground rules.  Teaching the Ocean syllabus would be much easier than YM, as you can get away with a lot less prior knowledge, and so I think that will be my feedback to Skip Novak.  Also with the Ocean, we could put it all into practice, which is extremely difficult to do with the YM.  Since leaving Punta Arenas I have seen 1 lateral mark, and a couple of cardinals, so applying the course practically is a non starter except for a few examples.

Here in Stanley we are about a 40 minute walk from the centre of town, as we a berthed on the FIPASS, which stands for Falklands Interim Port and Storage System.  Now this establish comprises a few metal barges which act as platforms for a number of welded containers that live on top.  Cut out some holes, and put in some UPVC windows, and heh presto, you have a temporary building/ dock for the British forces after they re-took Stanley.  Now the term interim would imply that this was a temporary measure, to be replaced by a much bigger purpose built port.  So things obviously happen slowly here in Stanley.

The FIPASS isn’t pretty, but visiting yachts get a lot of attention, and we will even be mentioned in the Island paper “The Penguin News”.  The locals drive down here and take a peek at the Aluminium hull, say hello and shoot off again.  Visiting yachts are normally headline stuff for the Penguin News, as there doesn’t appear to be any crime except drink driving and speeding.  There are no traffic lights here in the Falklands, although there is a temporary set that they can press into action if there are some urgent works to be carried out, and the locals are very proud of them.

Tomorrow we are off for a tour of the island, so I will send mor piccies then, see you soon,

Ian Jinks on Pelagic signing out