Pitcairn Island

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Sunday 12^th – Pitcairn Island – UK Territory

As the tenders could not dock at Pitcairn Island the Islanders came aboard to sell their wares and to give a lecture on island life. We learnt only around 50 people live on the island, from the lady giving the lecture who was a sixth generation decedent of Fletcher Christian from Munity on the Bounty. She explained that island life is to very tough and self sufficient as supplies only arrived on a cargo ship every three months. If someone fell ill they could only leave if a ship was passing close enough to divert and pick them up or alternatively they would need to make at least a two day journey on a long boat to a nearby island with an airport.



We were lucky to meet a young man in the coffee lounge that was stationed on the island for three months studying the birdlife. We invited him and another young lady who was also working on the island for three months for the BBC to lunch with us. Over lunch and glass of wine they gave us an interesting insight into Pitcairn Island life, we learned much more over lunch than we had at the lecture. The community it seemed was very fragmented, and the young woman gathering information for her BBC broadcast found interviewing the locals was certainly not an easy task. We felt sorry for them when they had to board the long boat for their return to the island. They had indicated they would have liked to stowaway and sail with us to Easter Island.

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