After a grueling 8 days of wind, waves and storms crossing the legendary Southern Ocean’s “Roaring 40s” in a 12-man sailing vessel, OUR SEALERS HAVE ARRIVED AT MARION ISLAND! This significant event marks the culmination of a remarkable collaborative effort to ensure our 39 years of research and monitoring continue - read more about that here!

Antarctic skua overlooking the pelagic australis sailing vessel in the bay. photo credit: Frikkie van der vyver.

Frikkie van der Vyver (left) and Yinhla Shihlomule (right) have arrived at Marion Island to resume the MIMMP long-term research on seals and killer whales. PHOTO CREDIT: Frikkie van der Vyver

The trip was far from usual as the science team set off in the Pelagic Australis for Marion Island on the 18th September from Cape Town harbour. Instead of the usual 4-day trip on the SA Agulhas II, our sealers got to try their hand at sailing as they set off to restart the Marion Island science programmes that have been halted since early May 2020.

Crossing the legendary Southern Ocean lived up to its reputation of being rough and rife with storms, but our team arrived safely on Marion Island and many sent messages to friends and family back on mainland South Africa saying ‘We are Home Sweet Home’.

Sailing to Marion Island on the pelagic australis. photo credit: Frikkie van der vyver.

the 8-day voyage of the pelagic australis from cape town harbour to marion island. www.tracking.redportglobal.com

Our sealers certainly feel right at home on Marion Island, and have hit the ground running as they arrived at the start of the busiest time of the year: southern elephant seal breeding season. Only a few days after arrival, our sealers set off on their first southern elephant seal census along the eastern coastline to Repetto’s hut and spotted the first of the newborn southern elephant seal pups!

We can now breathe a sigh of relief as the MIMMP’s 39-year long-term data collection continues without missing a breeding season, in the experienced hands of our M77 sealers: Frikkie van der Vyver and Yinhla Shihlomule.