NY Times: Life on the Most Remote Island on Earth – Loose Cannon
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Here’s another from the New York Times. We have started sharing stories designated as “gifts” from our Times account. This one was first published earlier today. Use the link below. By NICK SCHONFELDTo reach Tristan, roughly halfway between Africa and South America, Kelly Green crossed 1,738 miles of the South Atlantic from Cape Town aboard the M/V Edinburgh, a 205-foot lobster boat. She had never been to sea before, and she worried about seasickness, but it never came. After a week at sea, the ship dropped anchor off Calshot Harbour, in front of Tristan da Cunha’s only settlement—Edinburgh of the Seven Seas. Its two small piers, jutting into the water, looked to Kelly like arms reaching out to welcome her. Kelly could see most of the island’s residents (then 264 people) waving, including her mother and father, Marina and Sean Burns. Her father had been sent to the island, a British Overseas Territory, to serve as its administrator. He persuaded his reluctant 22-year-old daughter to visit, though Kelly, living in Britain, was more interested in clubs than remote islands. Kelly remembers him saying: “You have to come out, because you’ll never get the chance again.”
Among the men who helped carry her bags off the boat was Shane Green, 21. They met again that night at the island’s only pub. They danced. Kelly went home after six weeks. The first night back in Cape Town, South Africa, where most ships leaving Tristan travel to, her hotel phone rang. It was Shane. They talked every night for months. That was in 2012. Two years and several visits later, Kelly made the decision that would change her life: She moved to Tristan and became the first woman in over a century to settle there for good. The last had been three Irish sisters, in 1908. Living on an isolated island requires residents to be rather social—to pitch in for the common good, wear multiple hats, work long days and make their own fun. Tristan was first sighted in 1506 by Tristão da Cunha, a Portuguese naval commander. Britain annexed the island in 1816 and set up a garrison for a year. A Scottish corporal stayed behind with his wife, their two children and two English stonemasons. That was the beginning of the community that lives there today. Only 220 people now call it home, down from a peak of 300 in 1993. In the past three years, there have been 21 deaths and only six births. A few islanders have emigrated over the years. READ THE REST OF THE STORY FOR FREE
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