South Georgia settlements.

Grytviken (Swedish for "The Pot Cove")^[1] is the principal settlement in the British territory of South Georgia in the South Atlantic. It was so named in 1902 by the Swedish surveyor Johan Gunnar Andersson who found old English try pots used to render seal oil at the site. It is the best harbour on the island, consisting of a bay (King Edward Cove) within a bay (Cumberland East Bay). The site is quite sheltered, provides a substantial area of flat land suitable for building on, and has a good supply of fresh water.

Carl Anton Larsen[link]

Photograph of Solveig Jacobsen standing (with her dog) in front of a whale on the Grytviken flensing plan, taken by Magistrate Edward Binnie in 1916.

The settlement at Grytviken was established on November 16, 1904, by the Norwegian sea captain Carl Anton Larsen as a whaling station for his Compañía Argentina de Pesca (Argentine Fishing Company).^[2] It was phenomenally successful, with 195 whales taken in the first season alone. The whalers used every part of the animals - the blubber, meat, bones and viscera were rendered to extract the oil and the bones and meat were turned into fertilizer and fodder. Elephant seals were also hunted for their blubber. Around 300 men worked at the station during its heyday, operating during the southern summer from October to March. A few remained over the winter to maintain the boats and factory. Every few months a transport ship would bring essential supplies to the station and take away the oil and other produce. The following year the Argentine Government established a meteorological station.

Carl Anton Larsen, the founder of Grytviken, was a naturalized Briton born in Sandefjord, Norway. In his application for British citizenship, filed with the British Magistrate of South Georgia and granted in 1910, Captain Larsen wrote: "I have given up my Norwegian citizens rights and have resided here since I started whaling in this colony on the 16 November 1904 and have no reason to be of any other citizenship than British, as I have had and intend to have my residence here still for a long time." His family in Grytviken included his wife, three daughters and two sons.

As the manager of Compañía Argentina de Pesca, Larsen organized the construction of Grytviken, a remarkable undertaking accomplished by a team of sixty Norwegians between their arrival on November 16, and commencement of production at the newly built whale-oil factory on December 24, 1904.

Whaling station Grytviken in 1989.

Larsen chose the whaling station's site during his 1902 visit while in command of the ship Antarctic of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition (1901–03) led by Otto Nordenskjöld. On that occasion, the name Grytviken ("The Pot Cove") was given by the Swedish archaeologist and geologist Johan Gunnar Andersson who surveyed part of Thatcher Peninsula and found numerous artifacts and features from sealers’ habitation and industry, including a shallop (a type of small boat) and several try-pots used to boil seal oil. One of those try-pots, having the inscription ‘Johnson and Sons, Wapping Dock London’ is preserved at the South Georgia Museum in Grytviken.^[3]

Managers and other senior officers of the whaling stations often had their families living together with them. Among them was Fridthjof Jacobsen whose wife Klara Olette Jacobsen gave birth to two of their children in Grytviken; their daughter Solveig Gunbjørg Jacobsen was the first child ever born in the Antarctic, on October 8, 1913. Several more children have been born on South Georgia: recently even aboard visiting private yachts.

The whale population in the seas around the island was substantially reduced over the following sixty years until the station closed in December 1966, by which time the whale stocks were so low that their continued exploitation was unviable. Even now, the shore around Grytviken is littered with whale bones and the rusting remains of whale oil processing plants and abandoned whaling ships.

Shackleton[link]

Shackleton's grave in Grytviken.

Grytviken is closely associated with the Anglo-Irish explorer Ernest Shackleton. Shackleton's most famous expedition set out from London on August 1, 1914, to reach the Weddell Sea on January 10, 1915, where the pack ice closed in on their ship, the Endurance. The ship was broken by the ice on October 27, 1915. The 28 crew members managed to flee to Elephant Island, off Antarctica, bringing three small boats with them. All of them survived after Shackleton and five other men managed to reach the southern coast of South Georgia in the James Caird. They arrived at Cave Cove, and camped at Peggotty Bluff, from where they trekked to Stromness on the northeast coast. From Grytviken, Shackleton organised a rescue operation to bring home the remaining men.

He again returned to Grytviken, but posthumously, in 1922. He had died unexpectedly from a heart attack at sea at the beginning of another Antarctic expedition, and his widow chose South Georgia as his final resting place. His grave is located south of Grytviken, alongside those of the whalers who died on the island.

On 27 November 2011, the ashes of Frank Wild, Shackleton's 'right-hand man', were interred on the right-hand side of Shackleton's grave-site. The inscription on the rough-hewn granite block set to mark the spot reads "Frank Wild 1873-1939, Shackleton's right-hand man." Wild's relatives and Shackleton's only granddaughter, the Hon Alexandra Shackleton, attended a service conducted by the Rev Dr Richard Hines, rector of the Falkland Islands. The writer Angie Butler discovered the ashes in the vault of Braamfontein Cemetery, Johannesburg while researching her book The Quest For Frank Wild. She said "His ashes will now be where they were always supposed to be. It just took them a long time getting there".^[4]

Falklands War[link]

During the Falklands War, Grytviken was captured by Argentine forces in early April 1982 following a brief battle with British Royal Marines. The Royal Marines, SAS and SBS retook the settlement three weeks later without a shot being fired in return.^{[citation needed]}

Supported by the corvette ARA Guerrico on April 3, 1982, the ARA Bahía Paraíso landed a party of Argentine marines who attacked the platoon of 22 Royal Marines deployed at Grytviken. The two-hour battle resulted in the ARA Guerrico being damaged and an Argentine Puma helicopter shot down. The Argentine forces sustained 3 men killed and a similar number of wounded, with one wounded on the British side. The British commanding officer Lieutenant Keith Mills was awarded a Distinguished Service Cross for the defence of South Georgia. While the British Magistrate and other civilians and military present in Grytviken were removed from South Georgia, another 15 Britons remained beyond Argentine reach. The losses suffered at Grytviken prevented Argentina from occupying the rest of the island,^{[citation needed]} with Bird Island base, and field camps at Schlieper Bay, Lyell Glacier and St. Andrews Bay remaining under British control.

On April 25, the Royal Navy damaged and captured the Argentine submarine ARA Santa Fe at South Georgia. The Argentine garrison in Grytviken surrendered without returning the fire. The following day the detachment in Leith Harbour commanded by Captain Alfredo Astiz also surrendered. Finally, the Argentine personnel were removed from the South Sandwich Islands by HMS Endurance on June 20. Due to evidence of an unauthorised visit, the closed station Corbeta Uruguay was destroyed in January 1983.

Current situation[link]

South Georgia Museum, Grytviken.

Along with the surrounding area, the station has been declared an Area of Special Tourist Interest (ASTI).

Grytviken is a popular stop for cruise ships visiting Antarctica, and tourists usually land to visit Shackleton's grave. The South Georgia Museum is housed in the manager's house of the former whaling station, and is open during the summer tourist season.

The station's church is the only building which retains its original purpose, and is still used occasionally for services. There have been several marriages in Grytviken, the first being registered on February 24, 1932, between A. G. N. Jones and Vera Riches, and the most recent on February 19, 2006, between Peter W. Damisch and Lesley J. Friedsam. On January 28, 2007, a service was conducted in remembrance of Anders Hansen (a Norwegian whaler buried at Grytviken cemetery in 1943) and to celebrate his great-great-grandson Axel Wattø Eide's baptism occurring in Oslo, Norway, the same day.

Popular Culture[link]

The church and abandoned whaling station at Grytviken make an appearance in the 2006 Oscar-winning feature film, Happy Feet.^{[citation needed]}

Images[link]

See also[link]

• Carl Anton Larsen
• History of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
• King Edward Point
• Solveig Gunbjørg Jacobsen
• South Georgia Museum

References[link]

External links[link]

Media related to Grytviken at Wikimedia Commons

• Britain's Small Wars: The Argentine Invasion of South Georgia

Coordinates: 54°16′53″S 36°30′29″W / 54.28150°S 36.50800°W / -54.28150; -36.50800

v t e South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands General Coat of arms · Commissioner · Flag · Foreign relations · History · Languages · List of South Georgians · Operation Paraquet · South Georgia Museum · .gs · Sovereignty · Invasion of South Georgia Settlements and whaling stations Grytviken (King Edward Point) · Godthul · Husvik · Leith Harbour · Ocean Harbour · Prince Olav Harbour · Rosita Harbour · Stromness · Corbeta Uruguay South Georgia Islands Annenkov Island · Bird Island · Clerke Rocks · Cooper Island · Grass Island · Kupriyanov Islands · Pickersgill Islands · Saddle Island · Shag Rocks · South Georgia · Welcome Islands · Willis Islands  · Trinity Island  · Grassholm  · Black Rocks  · Black Rock South Sandwich Islands Bellingshausen · Bristol · Candlemas · Cook · Leskov · Montagu · Saunders · Thule · Vindication · Visokoi · Zavodovski · Traversay Islands Landmarks Allardyce Range  · Fortuna Glacier  · Gold Harbour · Larsen Harbour · Mount Belinda · Mount Paget · Peggotty Bluff  · Salisbury Plain · Salvesen Range · Southern Thule · Thatcher Peninsula  · Grace Glacier  · Lucas Glacier  · Bay of Isles  · Point Abrahamsen  · Sheep Point  · Stromness Bay  · Cumberland Bay  · Possession Bay  · Sheer Point  · Busen Point

Dame Ellen MacArthur
Ellen MacArthur in 2010
Born	(1976-07-08) 8 July 1976 (age 35) Whatstandwell near Matlock, Derbyshire, England.
Occupation	Campaigner
Known for	Previous holder of fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe in a yacht
Title	Dame
Website
Official Website of Ellen Macarthur

Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur, DBE (born 8 July 1976) is an English sailor, up until 2009, from Whatstandwell near Matlock in Derbyshire, now based in West Cowes, on the Isle of Wight. She is best known as a solo long-distance yachtswoman. On 7 February 2005 she broke the world record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the globe, a feat which gained her international renown.^[1] Francis Joyon, the Frenchman who had held the record before MacArthur, recovered the record again in early 2008, besting MacArthur's record by nearly two weeks.^[2] Following her retirement from professional sailing on 2 September 2010, Ellen announced the launch of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a charity set up to inspire people to re-think, re-design and build a sustainable future.

Early life[link]

Ellen MacArthur was born in Derbyshire where she lived with her parents who were both teachers and two brothers, Fergus and Lewis. She acquired her early interest in sailing, firstly by her desire to emulate her idol at the time, Sophie Burke and, secondly by reading Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons series of books. She has since become the Patron of the Nancy Blackett Trust^[3] which owns and operates Ransome's yacht, Nancy Blackett. Her first experience of sailing was on a boat owned by her Aunt Thea MacArthur on the east coast of England. She saved her school dinner money for eight years in order to buy her first boat, an eight foot dinghy, which she named Threp'ny Bit even though decimalisation had taken place before she was born. She sellotaped a real Threp'ny Bit onto the bow. MacArthur attended Wirksworth County Infants and Junior Schools and the Anthony Gell Community School and also worked at a sailing school in Hull.^[4] When she was 17, MacArthur bought a Corribee named Iduna, she described the first moment she saw it as "love at first sight". In 1995 she sailed Iduna single-handed on a circumnavigation of Great Britain.

In 1997 she finished 17th in the Mini Transat solo transatlantic race after fitting out her 21 ft (6.4 m) yacht Le Poisson herself while living in a French boatyard.

She was named 1998 British Telecom/Royal Yachting Association "Yachtsman of The Year" in the UK and "Sailing's Young Hope" in France.

Asteroid 20043 EllenMacArthur is named after her.^[5]

Racing career[link]

She first came to general prominence in 2001 when she came second in the Vendée Globe solo round-the-world sailing race in her Owen Clarke/Rob Humphreys designed Kingfisher (named after her sponsors, Kingfisher plc), and subsequently MacArthur was appointed MBE for services to sport.

In 2003 she captained a round-the-world record attempt for a crewed yacht in Kingfisher 2 (a catamaran formerly owned by Bruno Peyron and known as Orange), but was thwarted by a broken mast in the Southern Ocean.

Ellen MacArthur on her arrival in 2005.

A trimaran named B&Q/Castorama (after two companies in the Kingfisher group) unveiled in January 2004, was specially designed by Nigel Irens and Benoit Cabaret for her to break solo records. The 75-foot (23 m) trimaran was built in Australia, with many of the components specifically arranged to take into account MacArthur's 5 foot 2 inch (1.57 m) height.^{[citation needed]}

Using the yacht, her first significant record attempt in 2004 to break the west–east transatlantic crossing time failed by around one and a quarter hours, after over seven days of sailing.

She began her attempt to break the solo record for sailing non-stop around the world on 28 November 2004. During her circumnavigation, she set records for the fastest solo voyage to the equator, past the Cape of Good Hope, past Cape Horn and back to the equator again. She crossed the finishing line near the French coast at Ushant at 22:29 UTC on 7 February 2005 beating the previous record set by French sailor Francis Joyon by 1 day, 8 hours, 35 minutes, 49 seconds. Her time of 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes 33 seconds is world record for the 27,354 nautical miles (50,660 km) covered. This is an average speed of 15.9 knots (29.4 km/h).

On 8 February 2005, following her return to England, it was announced that she was to be appointed Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of her achievement.^[6] It is believed that she is the youngest ever recipient of this honour. Coming immediately after the event being recognised, rather than appearing in due course in the New Year's or Birthday honours lists, this recognition was reminiscent of the knighthoods conferred upon Francis Drake and Francis Chichester upon arrival home after their respective circumnavigations in 1580 and 1967. MacArthur was also made an honorary Lieutenant Commander of the Royal Naval Reserve on the same day.

In recognition of her achievement she was awarded the French Légion d'Honneur Knight by Nicolas Sarkozy in March 2008. She is a fluent French speaker.^[7]

In 2007 MacArthur headed up BT Team Ellen, a three-person sailing team which includes Australian Nick Moloney and Frenchman Sébastien Josse.^[8]

In October 2009 MacArthur announced her intention to retire from competitive racing to concentrate on sustainability.^[9][10]

On 2 September 2010, she launched the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a charity focusing on providing a positive framework for sustainable innovation using insights from living systems to re-think the future. The Foundation works primarily in Education for 14–19 years and Higher Education and investigates the opportunities for young people in a future sustainable economy.

Records[link]

In June 2000, MacArthur sailed the monohull Kingfisher from Plymouth, UK to Newport, Rhode Island, USA in 14 days, 23 hours, 11 minutes. This is the current record for a single-handed monohull east-to-west passage, and also the record for a single-handed woman in any vessel.^[11]

MacArthur's second place in the 2000-2001 edition of the Vendée Globe, with a time of 94 days, 4 hours and 25 minutes, is the world record for a single-handed, non-stop, monohull circumnavigation by a woman.^[12]

In June 2004, MacArthur sailed her trimaran B&Q/Castorama from Ambrose Light, Lower New York Bay, USA to Lizard Point, Cornwall, UK in 7 days, 3 hours, 50 minutes. This set a new world record for a transatlantic crossing by women, beating the previous crewed record as well as the singlehanded version.^[13]

In 2005, MacArthur beat Francis Joyon's existing world record for a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation. MacArthur in the trimaran B&Q/Castorama sailed 27,354 nautical miles (50,660 km) at an average speed of 15.9 knots.^[14] Her time of 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes 33 seconds beat Joyon's then world record time by 1 day, 8 hours, 35 minutes and 49 seconds. Ellen had no more than 20 minutes' sleep at a time, having to be on constant lookout day and night. On 23 November 2007 Joyon set off in IDEC II in an attempt to beat MacArthur's current world record for a single handed circumnavigation. He achieved his goal in 57 days, 13 hours 34 minutes and 6 seconds.^[2]

Critics of MacArthur's voyage emphasise the differences in the technological capabilities of present-day sailing vessels against those used by previous record holders.^[15]

Satire[link]

MacArthur's tearful video diaries recording the sailing adversities she faced inspired the caricature of her on the BBC satirical comedy show Dead Ringers. In Episode 5 of Series 1 of a BBC Sci-fi sitcom, Hyperdrive, a MacArthur-like character, Clare Winchester, a round-the-galaxy solo spacewoman played by Sally Phillips, is parodied with references to video diaries, a diminishing grip on reality and friendlessness.

Popular culture[link]

MacArthur was also the last record holder on Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car on the BBC's Top Gear television driving programme until the eighth series, when the car and rules were changed, and previous records were removed.^[16] The competition was a timed lap of a racetrack in a Suzuki Liana. She completed the lap in 1 minute 46.7 seconds, beating Jimmy Carr by 0.2 seconds.

She also took part in 2011 TV series Jamie's Dream School.

Books by Ellen MacArthur[link]

In 2002, Dame Ellen released her first autobiography entitled Taking on the World. This detailed her life and journey up until the printing date. The Observer describes the book as "The first true heroine of the twenty-first century."

In September 2010, Dame Ellen published a second autobiography entitled Full Circle. This also details her life and journey up until the printing date.

Dame Ellen's Charities[link]

Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust[link]

In 2003, MacArthur set up the Ellen MacArthur Trust (now The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust), a registered charity,^[17] to take young people, aged between 8 and 24 inclusive, sailing to help them regain their confidence on their way to recovery from cancer, leukaemia and other serious illnesses. In Ellen’s words:

"These are really special kids. In many ways they are just the same as everyone else, they are interested in the same things as kids their age, they have the same goals in life, but the difference is that they do this with a huge challenge ahead of them. I face challenges out on the water, but these are challenges that I choose to do. They on the other hand don't have this luxury. They battle against something harder than many of us could ever imagine and they do it with the biggest smiles on their faces. To me they are truly inspirational and if the Ellen MacArthur Trust can help them in their battle in any way then that is a fantastic achievement."

In 2008 MacArthur joined forces with other sports celebrities to launch an appeal to raise £4 million for the Rainbows children's hospice. The aim is to give terminally ill young people their own customised sleeping unit to enable children in separate age groups to have their families stay with them.^[18]

Ellen MacArthur Foundation[link]

After retiring from sailing, MacArthur founded the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in order to promote sustainability. One of the Foundation's ventures was launching a programme called Project ReDesign where students from school are asked to redesign some aspects of the future.^[19]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ellen MacArthur

• Official website of Dame Ellen MacArthur
• Official website of The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust
• Official website of The Ellen MacArthur Foundation
• Nancy Blackett Trust Website
• Biography on BBC site
• BBC News article: MacArthur sails into record books

References[link]

1. ^ Our Amazing Planet Staff (30 April 2012). "8 Unsung Women Explorers". http://news.yahoo.com/8-unsung-women-explorers-180658286.html. Retrieved 30 April 2012. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "report of MacArthur congratulating Joyon on beating her record". BBC News. 2008-01-20. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics/sailing/7198647.stm. Retrieved 2009-10-28. 
3. ^ "The Nancy Blackett Trust — Arthur Ransome's Nancy Blackett". Nancyblackett.org. http://www.nancyblackett.org/. Retrieved 2009-10-28. 
4. ^ Daily Mail Weekend Interview. 20 May 2012, p6
5. ^ http://www.ipa.nw.ru/PAGE/DEPFUND/LSBSS/ALF/21.htm
6. ^ London Gazette: no. 57557. p. 1713. 2005-02-11. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
7. ^ Samuel, Henry (2008-03-18). "Nicolas Sarkozy to honour Ellen MacArthur". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/03/18/wfra118.xml. Retrieved 2010-05-01. 
8. ^ "Team Ellen". Team Ellen. http://www.teamellen.com/. Retrieved 2009-10-28. 
9. ^ "UK | Yachtswoman Dame Ellen to retire". BBC News. 2009-10-04. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8289226.stm. Retrieved 2009-10-28. 
10. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00mz6jq/Desert_Island_Discs_Dame_Ellen_MacArthur/
11. ^ WSSRC Ratified Passage Records — "Transatlantic E to W, Plymouth – Newport, monohull and woman any vessel", from the World Sailing Speed Record Council
12. ^ WSSRC Ratified Passage Records — "Round the World, non stop, singlehanded, woman, Vendée Globe", from the World Sailing Speed Record Council
13. ^ WSSRC Ratified Passage Records — "Transatlantic W to E outright women, and singlehanded woman", from the World Sailing Speed Record Council
14. ^ WSSRC Ratified Passage Records — "Round the World, non stop, singlehanded", from the World Sailing Speed Record Council
15. ^ "Britain welcomes Dame Ellen home". BBC News. 2005-02-08. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/sailing/4245577.stm. Retrieved 2009-10-28. 
16. ^ "''Old Top Gear Celebrity Laps''". Bbc.co.uk. 2008-10-20. http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/show/liana_laps.shtml. Retrieved 2009-10-28. 
17. ^ The Ellen MacArthur Cancer Trust, Registered Charity no. 1096491 at the Charity Commission
18. ^ "Ellen MacArthur in Charity Appeal", Charities Aid Foundation, 2008-02-07. Retrieved on 2005-02-11.
19. ^ "Ellen MacArthur Foundation Website". http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/education/project-re-design. Retrieved 2011-07-27.