This Day in History, Journal Entry by Brad Friestedt, W-1
February 11, 2022
It's time I recorded the events of Duncan Island (Isle Pinzon), the most inhospitable hell-hole this side of Antarctica. This was the last Galapagos island we were to visit so I, and a group of other hale and hearty idiots, went ashore in search of the elusive Galapagos gigente tortoise. Duncan Island was tough from the start. There was no anchorage or any convenient landing site, but a crew of 9 (including myself) went ashore anyhow to see what we could see.
We hurriedly scrambled ashore and tried to make our way up a 50' cliff to start the hike to the caldera rim 700' or so up. Ray Ashely was the third person to start the trecherous [sic]cliff climb. about 2/3 of the way up, Ray tried a new route and, grabbing on to a large boulder, fell head over heels to the rocks below. His fall seemed to last forever as he and the large boulder fell through the air. I had to turn my head for I thought he was going to be smashed to pancake proportions. Ray landed on his read end after tumbling 30' and came up asking for Pierre, the ship's doctor.
He escaped with cuts and bruises, a very lucky person indeed. The island seemed friendly enough-- at a distance, but up close it proved to be a torture-test, full of entangling bushes with thorns that seemed to reach out to scratch everyone's bare legs. We reached the caldera rim at about 10:00 a.m. with no sign of the tortoises. Two hours of search produced nothing more than evidence that tortoises exist on the island.
Negatively speaking, however, we were scratched, tired, sunburned, and thirsty by noon. It took us 2-1/2 hours to reach the ocean! My feet are shredded with abrasion and blisters. To cap everything I was punctured by a nail-like thorn which pierced my shoe. And island such as Duncan makes me glad we are leaving the Galapagos, now some 150 miles distant.
And so, as the Galapagos set slowly in the west, much of one my life's greatest adventures has come to a close. I will never forget it.
- February 11, 1972
Contact: Douglas Karlson, Director of Communications | 508-444-1918 | dkarlson@sea.edu | www.sea.edu
Share This Story
Recent News
Sea Education Association Students Return to International Waters with Blue Water Voyage to Tahiti
This fall, 19 Sea Education Association (SEA) students set sail from San Diego to Tahiti in SEA’s first voyage to international [...]
SEA Attends Ceremony Honoring Tall Ships America aboard USCG Barque EAGLE
Tall Ships America recently announced that Senate Resolution 793 honoring Tall Ships America’s 50th anniversary was adopted on September 22, 2022. [...]
Sea Education Association students prepare for life underway using state of the art nautical simulation from Wartsila Corporation.
By Capt. Chris Nolan Life at sea is challenging for new mariners – the first voyage is often likened [...]
SEA’s Dr. Rich King Co-edits New Audubon Book
Dr. Richard King, SEA Visiting Associate Professor of Maritime History and Literature, has co-edited an anthology of writings by naturalist John [...]
SEA Plastics Lab Launches New Website
This week, the SEA Plastics Lab launched a new website intended to be a valuable resource for those interested in learning [...]
SEA Writer 2022, Magazines From the Summer SEA Quest Students
As part of their two-week classwork with SEA Quest, students write, edit, and produce an issue of SEA Writer [...]
