Tristan : Weekly News from Tristan (21/01/07)
Submitted by Tristan Times (Sarah Glass) 21.01.2007 (Article Archived on 04.02.2007)

The MV Edinburgh arrived at Tristan on the 19th January, although harbour condition were favorable she did not come to the settlement first to discharge the passengers, but went to the back of the island (Tripot Bay) to unload materials and pump fuel to the tug De Hong.

Weekly News.

The MV Edinburgh arrived at Tristan on the 19th January, although harbour condition were favorable she did not come to the settlement first to discharge the passengers, but went to the back of the island (Tripot Bay) to unload materials and pump fuel to the tug De Hong.  The weather started to turn nasty and the islanders knew that if the passengers did not get off the vessel immediately could be stuck on the Edinburgh until the weather changed, which could be several days, and they had already been there a week coming from Cape Town.

Around 2pm Conrad Glass (Chief of Police) with crew Jack Green, Neil Swain, and Duncan Lavarello decided to take the rescue boat Atlantic Dawn and run to the back of the island to collect the passengers.  Departing around 2:30 they went to the lee of the island and collected the passengers, which include the new doctor Dr Carel van der Merwe with wife Ingrid, dentist Aileen Logie, and Sarah Glass returning from holiday. 

Whilst on the vessel they also arrange for the working boat used to transport the salvage team to and from the oil rig and coxswain by Mark Swain and Grant Green to ferry the environmental team of five to the settlement at the same time.  The two boats were back in the harbour just before 4pm with some very wet, but happy passengers.  The passengers luggage, and islands cargo of frozen, fresh fruit and 13 bags of GPO mail remains onboard and will stay there until the weather breaks and allows the ship to come to the settlement to discharge.  Today the 20th January just as the islanders predicted it's pouring with rain, with very strong winds, but thanks to the crews of the boats, the passengers are comfortably ashore.