May - June MFV Edinburgh Voyage
Reports from Cynthia Green and Sean Burns
Latest News
A break in the weather allowed final offloading and passenger boarding, and the Edinburgh has departed for Cape Town. See below for details of this eventful voyage in order.
Photo from Sean Burns shows MFV Edinburgh anchored off Tristan on 2nd February 2018
Stowaways discovered and ship returns to Cape Town
MFV Edinburgh departed Cape Town on 16th May 2018 with ten passengers aboard, however, two stowaways were discovered and so the ship returned to Cape Town, arriving the following morning at 06.30, when the miscreants were delivered to South African authorities.
Second Departure
The vessel finally departed for Cape Town later in the day. Still aboard were the official passengers: Islanders Leon Glass, Eric and Martha Glass, Sandra and Deanna Rogers; Factory Manager Clinton de Bod, Roxanne Peyper and baby Joshua de Bod, Nurse Rachel van Heerden, and English Teacher Lamont Ferreria.
Arrival at Tristan
MFV Edinburgh arrived from Cape Town at midday on Thursday 24th May but had to go to the lee of the island as sea conditions were not good for landing passengers. Passengers and their luggage came ashore during the morning of Friday 25th May, but offloading of cargo was postponed as the sea was still quite 'bumpy'.
Offloading curtailed as ship moves to Gough Island
MFV Edinburgh started offloading cargo in good weather on Monday 28th May and most of load was brought ashore by the end of the day. Tuesday 29th saw poor sea conditions, so the ship set sail for Gough to shelter in the lee prior to fishing operations. The vessel will then return to Tristan to complete the cargo offload before loading passengers and returning to Cape Town.
Delivery of essential spares for Gough Team
The Edinburgh carried much needed spares to repair the generator at the Gough Island Base for the over-wintering team.
12th June Update
Originally scheduled to depart Tristan on 8th June, the ship is still sheltering in the lee at Inaccessible Island and is expected to remain there for several more days as the weather is foul.
13th June Update
A break in the weather allowed the Edinburgh to return from Inaccessible at 9am. Offloading started about 11am. The following passengers boarded at 4.45pm and she sailed for Cape Town at 8.30pm:
Islanders: Kelly, Shane & Savanna Green, Harold & Amy Green, Andrea Repetto, Dilys Green and Samantha Swain. Others: Sean & Marina Burns, Peter Foster, Victoria Stapleton, and Craig Bergh (Ovenstone representative signed on as a crew member).
19th June Update
The Edinburgh arrived in Cape Town late in the evening on Tuesday 19th June, completing the last leg of its voyage.