Falkland Islands

Scanned from 35mm film print, taken 1987

Best enlarged Scanned from a 1987 35mm slide

Best enlarged Scanned from a 1987 35mm slide

Photograph taken March 1987 The Charles Cooper, an American wooden merchant ship, she was bound from Philadelphia to Frisco with coal,and arrived at the Falklands, leaky - 92 days out. She was condemned and hulked in 1886, then used as a pierhead store on West jetty until the 1960s. South Street Seaport Museum of New York bought her In 1968 - hoping to repatriate her. The cost of this was found to be too great. The Cooper was was then returned to Falklands ownership and given into the care of the Falklands Museum in Stanley. Gradually deteriorating, under attack from the elements and marine pests, what remained has been removed from the harbour by the museum, and is undergoing preservation measures.

Photograph taken March 1987 The Lady Elizabeth was launched from Sunderland, England, on June 4th, 1879. She was built to replace a prior Lady Elizabeth, which had sunk off the coast of Western Australia in 1878. The second Lady Elizabeth voyaged all around the world, hauling cargo successfully for over 30 years. On December 4th, 1912, the Lady Elizabeth left Vancouver with a shipment of lumber. She was headed for Mozambique. While sailing around Cape Horn, she encountered strong gales. The ship was damaged, much of the cargo lost, and four men were swept overboard. While limping into Berkley Sound on her way to Port Stanley for repairs, she suffered extensive damage to her hull when she struck Uranae Rock, off Volunteer Point. Once reaching Port Stanley, she was declared unseaworthy and bought by the Falkland Island Company to be used as a floating timber warehouse. On February 17, 1936, a fierce storm battered the Lady Elizabeth. She broke free of her moorings, drifted into Whalebone Cove and was beached on a shallow sandbar. Over the years, she has been vandalized by opportunists who have stolen her wood and other valuables. Today, she still stands, corroded but proud. Her current owner, the Crown Receiver of Wrecks, has attempted to convert her into a floating museum, but the project has stalled due to lack of funding.

Picture taken March 1987 I don't know who was more surprised, me or the Magellanic Penguin chick emerging from his/her burrow. Focus not great, but is was manual!