Man works on island so remote there are no residents
"The wildlife here is just incredible."
Published
1 year ago onBy
Talker NewsBy Jake Meeus-Jones via SWNS
This man works on one of the world's remotest islands - 1,257 miles from mainland Argentina - where there are no permanent residents and food is delivered by boat.
James Sinclair, 27, lives on the British Overseas Territory Island of South Georgia - located deep in the southern Atlantic ocean.
In his role as a government officer, James spends his time overseeing the day-to-day workings of the island - running the post office, officiating visiting weddings or going out on fishery protective vessels.
With no official residents on the island, James lives alongside the British Antarctic Survey team - responsible for maintaining animal populations on the island - in King Edward Point.
He works in six-month stints, before returning to mainland Argentina for three months.
The nearby settlement of Grytviken was home to a whaling factory from 1904 to 1966 where 175,000 whales were slaughtered. Rusty remnants of the factory remain standing today.
Originally from Ipswich, UK, James regularly sees elephant seals 'fighting' in the bay and pintail ducks eating seal carcasses.
Having been on the island for just over a month, James said: "I haven’t been bored at all.
"There's always something to do.
"It’s an incredible place. It’s almost like the Himalayas but in the southern Atlantic.
"You're just surrounded by mountains and glaciers.
"The wildlife here is just incredible.
"Seeing birds like albatross with 11-foot wingspans, the largest mammal in the world - the blue whale - and elephant seals fighting on the bay.
"It’s an absolute privilege."
James was born into an explorative and geographical family, with his mom previously working for the British Antarctic Survey in Cambridge in renewable waste management.
He originally applied for the unique job back in 2018 but it was shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After successfully reapplying and getting the job four years later, James said he is "really happy."
"I reapplied this time around and got through a number of waves before being offered the job.
"I was pretty ecstatic when I got the call.
"Two weeks after being offered the job I was flying to the Falkland Islands. I was just really happy.
"It was quite tough leaving family. We had a nice dinner, although it did kind of feel like my funeral."
James and the team have a doctor on the island with them for any medical needs and get their food delivered in shipments.
They have a year's supply of food which is replenished every January as well as fresh food delivered each time the Pharos SG vessel rotates past the island, which is usually once a month.
James said: "Food wise you can find all sorts of stuff if you can survive in the freezer long enough.
"I found some prosciutto in there the other day – but for the most part, it’s a lot of powdered and freeze-dried stuff for our essentials."
When it comes to mail, the Pharos SG vessel is also on hand to deliver any supplies and deliveries.
"I haven’t personally ordered anything yet, but a lot of people do," James said.
"People order the food they’re missing or get relatives and friends to send it down for them, but it takes quite a while to get here of course.
"It's also common for people to send down hobby stuff – knitting is quite a popular pastime here."
They use the old jail for storage and host a choir service in the church - they were in use when whalers used to work on the island.
Despite being over 1,000 miles away from the coast of Argentina, James says it's 'one of the more sociable places' he's worked.
"You have your radio on 24/7 - you have to respond to things.
"There's always work to be done and we spend a lot of time out at sea patrolling.
"There's 27 of us working on the base and everyone here is integral to the station.
"We have the BAS team and the government team and there are two people on the drone team.
"It's one of the more social places I've worked. I'm getting very good at darts and table tennis."
Although there are no permanent residents living on South Georgia, James does pay South Georgia tax.
Visitors to the islands require a visa and must pay £130 ($157) to stay up to three days. With subsequent £20 ($24) daily payments for longer stays.
With the island not accessible by air, those who visit the island do so by boat.
When he's not working, James spends his time skiing or walking on the island's mountains or hosting social events with the rest of the team.
He said: "There’s a bar, library, gym and sauna and all the BAS team eat together.
"As you can imagine with a small community it’s a very social place.
"There’s normally a film night or quiz going on once or twice a week and there’s a tradition of people giving lectures and talks.
"Good weather days are usually spent exploring the Thatcher peninsular and surrounding areas or wildlife photography.
"There’s also a substantial repository of costumes that get used for special events like Halloween.
"Occasionally we get invited on board the expedition ships to give talks or have dinner which is always appreciated.
"The government officers are tasked with entertaining VIP guests when they arrive, and we tend to practice our dinner-hosting skills whenever possible with the surrounding team."
James will finish the first six-month stint of his three-year contract in March. He will then have a three-month break, which he plans to spend traveling around South America, before returning to the island for another six months.
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