Partially cloudy skies let the sun pass through windows and portholes. But the illusion of warm sunny weather disappears as soon as we step on deck and feel the strong winds that we are having while anchored right next to the low-lying Barren Island.
It blows quite hard, but the seas are not high, so pretty soon after breakfast, a scout zodiac leaves the ship to assess the chances for a landing. A good though shallow spot is found south of the so-called Useless Waters bay. Indeed, the inviting large bay doesn’t offer good possibilities for bringing the ship or even the rubber boats in, being of low depths and covered by Giant kelp forests.
Anyway, after a long ride, we set foot ashore and ready ourselves for a bit of a gentle walk to explore the area.
Barren, together with the neighboring George and Speedwell Islands, are all run as a sheep farm, and tourism is also welcome. Grazed meadows led us first to the remains of an old jetty that, let’s say, has seen better times for its use as a mooring point for boats, but nowadays, Sea lions seem to love it to rest and nurse their youngsters. As we walk past, aiming for a Gentoo penguin and Imperial shag colony, many small birds are around despite the strong winds. Barren is free of rats, representing an important area for the survival and breeding of those small songbirds.
Penguins and cormorants share a little area amidst the low bushes over the flat ground. As usual, Giant petrels, Skuas, and also many Turkey vultures patrol the rookery in search of injured, sick animals or straight away trying to get some of their eggs.
The exposed Eastern coast of this northern side of the island offers an extensive white sandy beach, where the swell breaks. Along it, many seal and whale bones lie on the ground as witnesses of the old times when these animals were heavily hunted for their blubber. Further on, over the grassy slopes, a few Sea lions rest surrounded by sheep and geese.
By that time, about 30 knots of wind are blowing. The ship drags anchor and has to reposition just before the pickups with the zodiacs. Once all aboard, we are soon on the move towards Speedwell Island, just a bit less than 10 nautical miles under the strong wind conditions.
At arrival there after lunch, the small bay where the farm is offers quite more shelter than offshore and also the channels between the group of islands that form this small group.
Even a small jetty can be used for landings, but as it is a high one, the small sandy beach next to it is a better option to operate with the zodiacs. It is here that the complement of the ship will be increased with one more Voyage Crew member, who, after the troubles with some of the flights to the Falklands, eventually could make it to Speedwell Island.
Speedwell is quite large (about 52 square kilometers), low-lying as many of the areas at East Falklands. It can be considered as the central point for farming in the area. George, Barren, and Speedwell Islands form the southernmost commercial working farm on the archipelago, and the activities are environmentally friendly without the use of any chemicals or fertilizers. That’s one of the reasons why, if you want to make a living running a farm in those areas under these premises, large extensions of land are needed. Therefore, the same people man the three islands, living in a semi-nomadic way and moving among them with their workboats, which can also carry sheep and cattle. All in all, they run one of the most productive farms in the Falklands.
And of their life, we could get a good taste and a nice introduction.
Shepherd dogs in action, driving and grouping sheep from one shed to another, showed their skills and good training for this purpose.
Farm life explanations followed, together with a demonstration of sheep shearing and wool preparation. Actually, the main income for the farm comes from the fine wool.
Next to the farm, a large pond offers top-quality birdwatching. Here, Brown-hooded and Dolphin gulls nest, together with Magellanic oystercatchers, Pintails, Speckled teals, Upland and Ruddy-headed geese. But without a doubt, the most interesting one is the rare Silvery Grebe. This striking-looking little bird is characterized by its shining white fore-neck, contrasting with its jet-black beak and face, in which is set the piercing red eye that gives its glare a somewhat demonic quality! In the summer, a fan of gold plumes behind the eye adds further to the dramatic look. They are sociable and nest in small colonies with pairs settling within meters of each other on large ponds. We saw the Grebes attempting to gather seaweed in order to build a nest… this couple was having debatable success, but others must have developed a knack for it and are able to use the pond vegetation to make a habitable nest. They dive frequently, staying down for an average of 20 seconds before resurfacing. Though sociable, they are apparently not chatty as they are usually silent apart from some twittering or squeaking while nesting. They come to the ponds from September for breeding, but during the winter, inhabit coastal kelp patches. The Silvery Grebe is not such a common sight here as they are not numerous in the Falklands, though there is a small resident population. Larger numbers are usually found in Southern Chile and Argentina.
The green meadows around are home to a thriving population of native songbirds as well. In total, more than 40 species of birds have been recorded on the island. Amongst them today, we had a close encounter with the Rufous-chested Dotterel. A member of the Plover family, the Rufous-chested Dotterel is an elegant bird with handsome plumage. A chestnut-colored breast (that gives it its name) stands proudly against its blue-grey face and throat and is underlined by a crisp black crescent which is a stark contrast to its bright white belly. Its breeding plumage sees all this adorned with a striking white headband or ‘diadem’ across the forehead and extending behind the eye. This is only seen from August to mid-December, after which time the adults start molting and change to a much more subdued winter plumage. When breeding, one of the pair will stand guard on a small mound and utter a distinctive cry at intervals that will increase in frequency if the nest is threatened. The ‘nests’ are a hollow scraped into the ground and sheltered by vegetation. During winter, only very small numbers are present in the Falklands, but numbers increase during the breeding season. Still, they breed most commonly in the Magellanic region, Tierra del Fuego, and adjacent islands in Chile, with some northward migration in winter.
After the great afternoon ashore, back on board, all was getting ready to heave anchor and start our way. Now, using the easterly winds, we plan to sail overnight westwards to visit New Island and have a glimpse of West Falklands. Hills and sea-facing large cliffs characterize this area in contrast with the flatter and more barren islands that we have visited so far. A couple of hours under engine to get to more open waters first, then when the nighttime comes, the crew is aloft preparing sails under the rain. And off the Europa goes at a good speed, soon under increasing winds, again blowing over 30 knots.