S.Georgia : NG ENDEAVOUR: Return to Grytviken
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 16.04.2007 (Article Archived on 30.04.2007)
My previous visit to Grytviken had been accented by the tour I took of the asbestos removal project at the whaling station. This year it had been completed and I was able to show others about the project. The abandoned oil tanks had been steam cleaned and all of the unsafe buildings were torn down, leaving the machinery exposed.
Photo (c) J. Brock (FINN) Exposed machinery once housed in a dangerous building.
RETURN TO GRYTVIKEN
By J. Brock (FINN)
Exposed machinery onced housed in a dangerous building.
My previous visit to Grytviken had been accented by the tour I took of the asbestos removal project at the whaling station. This year it had been completed and I was able to show others about the project. The abandoned oil tanks had been steam cleaned and all of the unsafe buildings were torn down, leaving the machinery exposed. Other buildings looked as if AWG (Falklands) Ltd. (now Morrisons) robbed Peter to pay Paul in order to make them safe. All they needed, however, was a coat of paint and the old whaling station would look tidy.
ALBATROSS and DIAS, two whale-catchers, had laid on their sides, one of them at 45 on the seabed. But now they were in place and up-righted. Previously semi-submerged and containing oil washed from them over time, they no longer pollute the sea. Where oiled wildlife swimming amongst the ships was common, now there was reclaimed land. Though the main salvage work on those vessels was to remove the oil, the vessels also had to be floated before put into their present position. Both whale-catchers contained asbestos so when the oil was off the asbestos was removed. To put the ships in a fairly presentable and safe position on the beach, AWG (Falklands) Limited excavated a basin on the beach and then pulled the ships on to the beach and filled in around them, anchoring them and making them secure.
I must admit that the absence of Tim and Pauline Carr and Patrick and Sarah Lurcock made the place look less lived in - though in truth there are the beginnings of a year-round population by people on contract to the British Antarctic Survey and the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Tim and Pauline had left the Island at the end of 2006 when they retired and moved to New Zealand. Pat and Sarah were on annual leave.
After restoration the Whalers’ Church was a welcome respite and a chance to see any changes first hand. Though generally the same, the organ had been moved from the mezzanine to the ground floor to the left of the altar. The library had also been lovingly and thoroughly restored. Both the museum as well as the church are a testament to the nearly 15 years that Tim and Pauline worked on the Island.
Many of the houses that had been heavily damaged by vandals had disappeared with foundations remaining. People involved in the early restoration like the Late Nigel Bonner and the late Bob Kluzniak as well as Lyle Cragie-Halcett, where items were removed and cataloged for the museum project probably saved them from certain further destruction. No doubt Husvic, Stormness and Leith were also combed for artifacts. One would hope so.
Patrick Lurcock and I, in 2004, had made fast work of the jaunt between King Edward Point and Grytviken, where I was to photograph the restorative work that was being done in conjunction with asbestos removal. This year I would go at a snail’s pace between Grytviken and King Edward Point in order to savor every step and take pictures along the way. It brought back memories of the 1986 visit when, at the same time of year, snow had fallen frosting the surrounding tussock. This time I had a good look at the changes, noting the improvements to King Edward Point and finally being able to photograph the FPV PHAROS, the new South Georgia Fishery Patrol Vessel. I had been invited to drinks onboard a month earlier but caught the dreaded lurgy. Now fortunate timing gave me another chance to see the vessel.
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