Falklands Calling
Filmmaker Will West, son of Admiral Lord West, is currently in the Falklands and has sent us this report from his quarantine hotel.
I am on Day 11 of 14 in quarantine in the Falklands, which my team and I are spending in the Malvina House hotel in Stanley. I’m lucky enough to have a view over the harbour so I can watch the weather changing every half an hour or so! When the wind came round into the north west, we had balmy days of sitting in a t-shirt on the lawn outside (a blessed relief). Today we have cold southwesterly gales, and we’ve had everything in between. There have been two cricket test matches and a rugby international to break up the boredom, although none of those games has brought a great deal of comfort to an England fan.
A few days ago we were treated to a sight as the research ship James Clark Ross left Stanley for the last time ever (I believe she is going to be sold). She steamed up past our hotel to give a salute at Government House a few hundred yards away, patriotic music blasting from her speakers and rigged with bunting. People were tooting their car horns all along the sea front, it was a lovely moment.
Next Tuesday we are free and can walk along to the quayside where we board our 70ft expedition yacht Australis, which will be home to 12 of us for the next 6 weeks. We are filming a documentary around the Antarctic Peninsular and South Shetland Islands. I have been made to sign an NDA so I can’t go into details of what we are filming or what channel it will be shown on, but suffice it to say we will be looking at wildlife. I started my career in wildlife but haven’t worked in the sector for over a decade now, so I’m thrilled to be going to somewhere so remote with a team of very experienced specialists, and some amazing equipment. One of the gyro- stabilised cameras we are using costs half a million dollars on its own; crazy, but worth it for the amazing footage it captures.
Of course we have to cross the Drake Passage first, and when the wind blows like it is today it is ominous to say the least. Our skipper has made over 100 crossings with this motor- sailing yacht in the past so I know we are in safe hands, but the Drake has a justifiable reputation as a tough few days. It wouldn’t hold much fear for any of the Ardents I’m sure, or indeed anyone who has served in the RN, but for me, and in a smallish yacht, I am expecting to be pretty sick.
It should improve the other side though as there is much more shelter, and I can’t wait to see the stunning scenery below 60º south. We will steam south as far as Cuverville island and then track back up to Elephant Island over the course of 6 weeks, before heading back to Stanley. At the end I have a day of shore leave so I am hoping to visit San Carlos and the memorial at Blue Beach. This is a poignant trip for me; I was seven in 1982 and obviously the story of Ardent was a very big part of my childhood. It was a sad story, but one also of great pride in the bravery and sacrifice of the ship’s company. So the Falkland Islands have always had a semi- mythical status for me and I’m glad I have been able to visit.
I hope to capture some footage from San Carlos, which I will share with you via Richie when I return to UK in late April. My very best wishes to all,
Will West
