Squid Fishing Season

The end of February marks the start of the squid fishing season.  The harbour has been filled with Squid Jiggers, all of whom have come in to get their licence for fishing in Falkland waters.  They arrive, and drop anchor for several hours returning to sea once the licence is granted.

Jiggers in the Harbour (this is also my view when cycling home)

The squid they catch is Ilex (to me it’s the Latin name for the plant holly) which is all bound for the Far East.  There have been up to 14 jiggers in the harbour at points and it’s been really interesting watching the small local craft going from ship to ship granting licences. 

Each year some of the fishermen jump ship.  With sea temperatures of between 6-10 Celsius it’s extremely dangerous for those who jump.  Many perish without getting ashore. 

When the news broke that 7 had jumped from a Taiwanese vessel, there was huge concern here for their safety.  A massive search began with many people joining in, and half hourly updates on the local radio.  The search was undertaken by air, sea, and on the ground by emergency services, military and by local volunteers.  The weather was cool, and the sea rough when they jumped. Everyone hoped survivors would be found, but the conditions were really against them. 

Miraculously, all 7 were found alive and in reasonable shape.  The joy and relief in Stanley was palpable.  Two were found at Gypsy Cove and the other five were found when they knocked at someone’s house asking for food.  We don’t know why they jumped but they can’t have been happy.  They are being flown back home by the Falkland Island Government this weekend after spending time here recovering and resting.

Unfortunately, two more sailors jumped from another vessel later that day.  After another extensive search, a body was found, his companion is missing, presumed drowned. 

Sometimes when we eat, we forget about how that food has got there.

Force 10

What a difference 24 hours makes.  On Sunday we had flat calm and temperatures in the high 20s. On Monday a force 10 storm rolled in.  It came earlier than expected and caught everyone by surprise.  With winds of about 58knots and gusts above that, cycling to school with the children wasn’t an option, although Matt did cycle to work and I did see some other nutters out on their bikes.

The sea looked like it had smoke coming off it, the spray was so intense.  A jigger was dragged from its anchor and ran aground so we watched intently as a tug dragged it back afloat.  

I took Maya for a drive and made the rookie error of parking rear on to the wind.  Result – 5 minutes of extreme struggle to get the car door closed – we were lucky the door wasn’t torn off.  It took all my strength to finally close the door.  Apparently nose on is the answer.

Feathers

The beach near the sand dunes is now covered with penguins as they have their annual moult.  The feathers catch on the marram grass in the dunes and Maya and I had a happy walk looking at all the penguins and collecting their feathers.  The feathers are tiny and delicate, much smaller than I’d imagined.   The moulting penguins just look miserable.

Feathers caught in the roots of Marram Grass

Tyres

Our new Rover now has 4 massive off road tyres.   The old ones were on the verge of blowing out with flaps of rubber hanging off them.  This means we can get out and about to really explore.  I feel so high up from the road now when I drive it.  The children and their friends love being in it as it’s noisy, scruffy, smelly, dirty and lots of fun.  I just love driving it.  We are off out in it today to see where we can get to.  We have a picnic packed, the sun is shining and there’s not much wind.

 Here's where we got to!  Another lovely day.  Driving off road, wandering along the coast enjoying family time.