South Pacific 2002: 7 - Pitcairn Island

Saturday, November 2, 2002 - 10:30 AM Last night we had dinner served in our suite while watching Michael Palin's "Pole to Pole" video series. It had a segment on a trip (weather permitting) to the South Pole which is being offered on January 5, 2003 and which I'd very much like to participate in. My frequent travelling companion, Tim Carlson, has signed on for the trip and has emailed me full information. Ted Cookson, who is also on board the Navigator with us now, is also interested in going. It does look fascinating, but the timing is difficult as it is when the kids and grandkids from Canada are in Costa Rica visiting Because of that and the difficulty in outfitting for such a trip from Costa Rica in the limited time I would have available, it is unlikely I'll go.

During the night I slept poorly, feeling each toss of the ship and every wave we pounded into as the anticipation of our arrival at Pitcairn Island intensified. We went through a rough patch of weather in the wee hours of the morning, but it had settled down to only the occasional thump as the ship ploughed into a particularly large wave as dawn approached.

When I got up and went out on the balcony it was a sunny day with scattered clouds, but with very confused seas. There are large, widely spaced swells coming at us broadside - the effect of which are mitigated by the ship's stabilizers. In addition, there are 3 to 4 foot wind-driven waves coming at us from just of the port bow. This chop has also produced white caps.

We are bucking this headwind. It has already set back our estimated arrival time by an hour and a half, from noon until half past one. Wind speed is currently between 55 and 60 km per hour, which would mean the seas will be increasing in ferocity, not calming down. An announcement over the ship's PA system this morning asked that, should we be able to disembark, only the fit passengers go into the first boats. Those who have any reservations about their ability to manage the difficult conditions of boarding the Pitcairners' boats and getting ashore from them were requested to wait for reports back from shore.

If this was the ship Explorer I would have no concerns about getting ashore in a sea such as we have - we have already leapt into Zodiacs in far worse conditions. On Explorer, however, there are two major factors which work against this ship. One is that due to the nature of the itinerary and the type of travel, the average Explorer passenger is in far better physical condition than we have on the Navigator. Secondly, the crew are highly trained in ship-to-Zodiac passenger transfers, something which is very evidently not the case here. At this time I'd give us considerably less than a 50-50 chance of getting ashore, but those of us who very badly want to make landfall on Pitcairn are sitting on pins and needles, hoping that it may happen.

With some 2,000 articles and books and five major movies having been made about mutiny on the Bounty I'm sure you are well aware of the significance of Pitcairn Island. It had been spotted by a tiny ship, the Swallow, some years before the mutineers settled there in 1789, but due to an error in reporting the island's position by the Swallow (it was shown 170 some odd miles from where it actually is), it required Fletcher Christian to sail a grid on the ocean for many days until he found it. During this time he almost had another mutiny on his hands!

The mutineers had tried unsuccessfully to establish themselves on other islands south of Tahiti before returning to Tahiti to invite women, with whom some already had relationships, to join them. They virtually kidnapped other women and some Tahitian men who had been invited to an overnight party and "sleep over" on board the Bounty. When they awoke they were at sea on the way to try to find Pitcairn.

After they settled on Pitcairn and burned the ship, life was far from tranquil. After a number of violent incidents and murders over the next while, only one of the mutineers and none of the male Tahitians were left alive. There were, however, some twenty women - some pregnant and some already with babies. This formed the core of the Pitcairn population and the basis for the continued family names of the descendants of the mutineers.

In the early 1800s the community moved back to Tahiti. This proved disastrous, as they had no immunity to disease, and many died. The decimated remainder returned to Pitcairn. In 1856 the island was over populated with 193 inhabitants, so they were all moved by the British to Norfolk Island. In 1858 some returned to Pitcairn, followed by others the following year. In all, 5 families totalling about 40 people returned, forming the base of today's population. Around 45 people currently reside on the island.

The wind is continuing to increase - now gusting to well over 60 km per hour - not a good sign at all. I'm developing a nervous stomach as I monitor conditions. I should probably take the more fatalistic approach and just see what happens, but I can't, so I'm watching the continuous reports from the bridge on the TV. It shows ships speed, heading, latitude, longitude, barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, position on a chart of the Pacific, temperature of ocean and air and the humidity.

A report from the bridge says they have heard from Pitcairn Island and that the landing is still chancy. No decision will be made until we arrive. Bounty Bay, the only landing site, it very open to the sea and has large swells rolling in. The island is now visible on the horizon.

3:05 We have been anchored off Pitcairn Island since our arrival just before two. A longboat from Pitcairn loaded with 29 of the islanders headed out with a full load of goods for sale. When the captain anchored broadside to the wind, I though, "Great! He's using the ship as a breakwater to make loading the tenders easy."

Wrong! They lowered a loading ramp and ladder down the windward side of the ship, where naturally each wave washed about two feet of sea water over it. The Pitcairners were watching this from their longboat in disbelief. The Pitcairn helmsman shouted out clearly enough for all to here, "There's no bloody way!" Then, showing a competence sadly lacking by some on board this ship, they motored around to the lee side of the ship, attaching a long rope near the bow, backing up and attaching another a good distance down the ship, and pulled up to a rope ladder handing over the side. From there they had no trouble transferring the men, women, babies and children plus all their goods and chattels on to the Navigator.

4 PM We got a call to head down for the muster station, as they were going to try to send us ashore. Boarding cards had been issued very quietly earlier, and Ted had acquired two for Marilynn and I. The wanted only those who really wanted to get onto the island, and were fit enough to do it, to have boarding passes.

They used the Pitcairners boat and the rope ladder method to get us onto their longboat. About a twenty of us were then taken ashore after a tedious loading process - the longboat was moving 10 to 12 feet up and down the side of the ship with the waves.

When we arrived behind the little Pitcairn jetty there was no problem getting ashore, but as we were about to head off up the track to Adamstown, the only settlement, we were stopped. The captain had radioed for us to return immediately to the ship as the passengers who had not got onto our boat were getting very restless, so they cancelled the whole project. Unfortunately, many of the infirm don't believe they are infirm and were in the line to go ashore - they couldn't have made it. After looking at that, and not having a politically correct way of turning them down, they just abandoned the whole plan. Those of us who made it were ecstatic, though, in spite of the short shore period.

When we arrived back at the ship the waves were even heavier. The ship had swung into the wind on its bow anchor, and was no longer providing any protection for the boarding process. Luca, the staff captain, came up with a quite ingenious way of getting us back on the ship. Climbing type belts with hooks in the front were used. This hook was attached to a rope held by several seamen who were inside the hatch through which we would have to enter the ship. Another crewman was on each side of the rope. When a wave reached its peak, the order would be given to go. Each of the passenger's hands were then seized as the other's pulled on the rope, and the passenger was unceremoniously propelled on board. The system functioned well, and all got aboard with no more than some minor scrapes from the entranceway.

Allowing us to go ashore was a gutsy decision for the captain to have made, as this is not an expedition ship, and the crew have no training in handling this type of embarkation and disembarkation. He knew that a few of us were most anxious to get ashore, and we feel the whole thing was planned in advance, including recalling us. In this way the people who would likely have been hurt trying to get onto, or off of the Pitcairn longboat were prevented from going, but the more able of us did manage to get ashore and back.

There was a suitable party on board, and champagne flowed freely in Ted and Barbara's suite as we fittingly celebrated his 300th country, and our successful landing. For Marilynn and I the party continued until 1:30 AM!

The clocks are to be set ahead again for the third night in a row, and will be set ahead again tomorrow night. This may be the first ship on which I've had jet lag! We now have two sea days ahead of us before our arrival at Easter Island. I'm trying very hard to arrange a rental vehicle there, but so far with no success. I'll get another update off after we have left Easter Island to let you know how we made out.