The Bouvet Island Lifeboat

Bouvet Island — An Uninhabited Isolated Island

Deep beneath the South Atlantic, the Bouvet Island is described as one of the most isolated locations on the Earth and the nearest land mass is Antarctica. It is over 1,700 km further down south and no one has inhabited the island and as plant life does not seem to be sustainable there, it is unlikely of anyone ever going there.

Bouvet Island Lifeboat Mystery

But a British expedition which arrived from South Africa in 1964 discovered an abandoned lifeboat in a lagoon on the island and not far from the boat were oars, wood, a drum and a copper tank. The boat did not seem to have any identification marks on it and so could not be traced to any nation or shipping company.

Even more surprising was when another expedition had been sent to Bouvet Island two years thereafter, the lifeboat seemed to disappear together with the other object which were left near the boat. Till date, it is unknown on how the boat happened to be there or what could have happened to the people who were in it.

Bouvet Island Lifeboat in Coldest Continent on Earth

Bouvet Island is the most isolated uninhabited place in the world. It is not Antarctica but Antarctica is the nearest land to the island and Bouvet Island is location between the tip of Africa and the coldest continent on Earth.

One would not consider that sort of a place where one would find them of being shipwrecked and it is also difficult for people to locate them there. Only the most adventurous travellers would have taken the risk of visiting Bouvet Island.

Most modern expeditions on the islands was undertaken by helicopter since landing in a boat on Bouvet Island seemed difficult under the best conditions and impossible under an average condition. Around 90% of it is covered in glaciers, beneath which lies an active volcano.

Moreover the sides of the island are almost all pure, icy cliffs. If one tends to get lost and stuck on Bouvet Island, they would probably be spending the rest of their short life there with no food and probably water, with the possibility of something with which to melt the ice.

Its Location — Great Place for Weather Tower

Due to its location, weather researchers had given it a thought of a great place in putting a weather tower. Lieutenant Commander Allan Crawford, had been sent to the island in 1964, to investigate a new area of the land, created by lava flow ten years before the expedition.

He along with his team had landed by a helicopter and checked out the landscape. Crawford discovered a lagoon with a strange feature in the form of an abandoned lifeboat. His observations showed that there were no markings of any kind on the lifeboat to indicate from where it had come.

He was unable to do a thorough research on the area due to the harsh nature of the terrain and the work he intended to do though what he was able to search of the landscape turned to nothing else. He did not get any evidence if people had been staying on the island or had died on the island.

Source: Elixir of Knowledge