2002 – 2003
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Ocean Planet in the Around Alone – Update
Sunday, March 02, 2003 1500gmt
Position: Port Stanley, Falkland Islands.
Hi all,
More and more I am learning that this world is SUCH a strange, interesting, and amazing place.
Here at where I thought was an obscure, desolate, and detached location, I have met a number of resourceful, helpful people and encountered strange coincidences. More on this later.
Nearing Port William Bay, that leads to Port Stanley, I was struck by sight of stunning white beaches and beautiful rocky hills. Unfortunately, I found out later that the beaches I saw are still mined from the Falklands war! Not the best place for beachcombing. Beating into the main bay against a 40kt headwind was a bit dicey as I had to short tack my way in under staysail only avoiding rocks and kelp beds. After getting far enough upwind, I dropped the staysail and motored through the narrow entrance into Port Stanley Bay.
I was pleasantly surprised to see a colorful small town with a few boats anchored and, believe it or not, a couple of windsurfers blasting back and forth in the screaming winds. I could barely maneuver in the wind and here these hardy souls were out having fun! Turns out that they here the son and crew of famous French adventure Jerome Ponce’s small ship which had just returned from South Georgia with an aft deck full of reindeer to take to his island on the west side of the Falklands. What a trip. Anyway, after a scary docking (only one more busted lifeline stanchion), several of the helpful crowd said they have been following the Around Alone online and they all knew who I was… it gets even better….
Invited to dinner with our friendly new team, it came up in conversation that we had stopped in Bayonna Spain in Leg 2. Turns out that most of the folks at the table have spent a bunch of time there and knew all about the place!!! Last night at our second dinner our host even wore a shirt from the fantastic yacht club there that had treated us so well. Of all the places in this huge world that we chance to visit in this tiny town of 2000 near Cape Horn, we find we hit the same spots….I don’t know, it all seems kind of strange. Or just plain magic?
Gotta go, grinding to be done on the deck…Erich is working on the boom. Brazil is waiting!
Bruce and Ocean Planet