Visit of the MV Silver Wind, March 2025
Report from Kelly Green with additional photos from Philip Kendall
In the early hours of the 26th March 2025, before the sun had even risen, we spotted the shimmering light from the Silver Wind steaming in front of the settlement.
The MV Silver Wind
Despite the unfavourable weather conditions, there was still hope that we could at least board Administrator Philip and his wife Louise, who no doubt had a restless night. Everyone was down at the harbour early. Also ready and waiting were the local shopkeepers packed and ready to board —awaiting the all-clear from the RIB crew and the Captain.
The ship initially lowered a zodiac, but communication came through quickly that it was too rough to safely use their boats. Without delay, the Search and Rescue police RIB was brought down to the beach. Luggage, lobster, and vegetables were loaded swiftly. The Search and Rescue team assessed the conditions and deemed it safe enough for just one transfer trip.
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| Philip & Louise Kendall embarking on the Search & Rescue RIB to transfer over very choppy water to the ship | |
Although a little damp, Philip and Louise were delivered safely to the Silver Wind, thanks to the excellent skills of the Tristan RIB crew. They were so grateful that there are such capable coxswains and crew on Tristan, otherwise they would not have made it.
Having dried off Philip did a plaque exchange with Captain Sasha, the Ukrainian Master of this wonderful vessel. The captain explained that they had received a weather warning from their headquarters so would not be able to wait around as originally planned.
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| Silver Wind plaque given to the Administrator to take to the island on his return | The fresh Tristan Lobster and vegetables taken to the ship were served at dinner in the evening |
From the harbour you could clearly see, the no doubt disappointed guests. A few of them had however emailed in to say how beautiful the island looked! One passenger had actually ordered goods online through Tristan's Shopify Store, and the Post Office and Tourism team packed it up and got it down to the harbour just as the Search and Rescue RIB was about to depart to the vessel!
Passengers at the rails of the observation deck viewing Tristan and the RIB operations
The RIB returned to harbour not long after, with all crew members thoroughly soaked—but the operation was a success.
Operations were stood down for the day as the heavy north-westerly swell was expected to increase. It was a real shame, as we always look forward to welcoming visitors, and with this being our largest cruise liner of the year, the financial impact of missed shore landings will be significant.
The Silver Wind just had time to carry out a ship cruise around all three top islands, before setting sail for South Africa at 6:30pm. From the deck of the ship, the avid twitchers were rewarded with albatrosses, petrels and terns, while the keen eyed even spotted a 4m long hammerhead shark in the waters around Nightingale.
Tristan receding from view as the ship departs. The light green patch, centre, is Sandy Point
Nightingale Island with Middle Island
The passengers on board were very understanding, having witnessed Philip and Louise's damp arrival onboard. They were welcomed with a round of applause to the daily roundup in the ships theatre in the evening. The availability of fresh Tristan Lobster at dinner that evening was some compensation.
The day after the ship's departure started with a 45 minute Q&A session where Philip Kendall answered questions about life on Tristan and his experiences as Administrator. There was also information for passengers about Tristan displayed on the ship's notice board.
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| Philip Kendall's Q&A session with passengers about life on Tristan | Tristan information on the Silver Wind notice board |