• Remote Weddell Sea Explorer
    The former station manager's villa now houses the South Georgia Museum — Grytviken, SGI.
    The James Caird played an important role in the Endurance saga — Grytviken, SGI.James Caird ... the open boat was closed with a makeshift deck for the 800-mile crossing to SGI.Diving equipment of old times — Grytviken, SGI.Transfer basket used to transfer goods and people between ships — Grytviken, SGI.Whale sculpture made from scrap metal at the whaling station by Helen Denerley — Grytviken, SGI.The wingspan of a wandering albatross can measure up to 11.5 feet — Grytviken, SGI.Taxidermy of a ten-day old wandering albatross chick that was found frozen in its nest — Grytviken.The endemic South Georgia pin tail duck will eat meat that it scavenges from seal carcasses.Whale vertebra; sperm whale eye lens; fin whale baleen; sperm whale teeth; whale vertebra disks.Replica room in the manager's villa — Grytviken, SGI.4Shackleton bronze funeral wreaths, including one from King George (top R) and banner.Fur seals sleeping next to a try-pot — Grytviken, SGI.Fur seals playing amongst the try-pots — Grytviken, SGI.Fur seal pups and a whale skull — Grytviken, SGI.Steam-driven bone saw used in processing whales hunted in these waters — Grytviken, SGI.

    RWSE Day 6: Grytviken … SG Museum

    February 16 in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ⋅ 🌧 37 °F

    We received a 100% rating!

    The effort put in by the passengers, the expedition team, and the ships’ crew and staff to comply with SGI’s biosecurity measures paid off. With zero infractions, we received the stamp of approval and a letter authorizing us to go ashore not just at Grytviken, but at other SGI landing sites as well. Two thumbs up!

    Ferried ashore by zodiacs, we had a number of things that we could do in Grytviken. When we visited in 2007, we were so enamored of the wildlife that we did not have time to pay much attention to either the museum or the station itself. Our goal this time was to reverse what we did last time and head to the museum first.

    The South Georgia Museum, housed in what was once the villa of the manager of the Grytviken whaling station, opened in 1992. There is also a post office, but we had no need to go there, so we skipped it.

    At the museum, we wandered around the exhibits about the history of the island — before, during, and after the whaling period; checked out some of the taxidermied species … of which the albatross that died from natural causes on Bird Island is probably the most popular; read about life here when it was a hamlet; and refreshed our memory with respect to Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton’s connection to the island … not the least of which is the fact that he is buried here in Grytviken.

    Entirely new to us this time was an adjunct building in which we found a replica of the James Caird, the small boat that was taken off Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, before it was crushed in the ice. The boat played an important role in the Endurance saga … carrying Shackleton and five other men some 800 miles across the Southern Ocean to then mount the rescue of the men left on Elephant Island.

    (If you are not familiar with all this about Shackleton and Endurance … I have a slide show of sorts from our 2007 visit at this link … https://eenusa.smugmug.com/Antarctica/Falklands…).

    A quick wander amongst the whaling artifacts on the lawn was next … from try-pots used to render oil from blubber obtained from seals to a steam-driven bone saw … amongst which fur seals played. Then we headed off to explore the ruins of the old whaling station. More on that in the next footprint.    Read more