Yankee Harbour
Artifacts from the days of hunting litter this glacier-ringed natural safe-haven
Information about Yankee Harbour
This wonderful natural harbor is surrounded by glaciers. It’s an almost perfect safe anchor for ships, which is why it was used by sealers for many years. You enter Yankee Harbour via Shopski Cove, which is between Spit Point and Glacier Bluff on Greenwich Island. You can also look across McFarlane Strait towards Half Moon Island and glaciers and the snow cap across the peaks of Livingstone Island, one the most spectacular islands in the South Shetlands.
Yankee Harbour was used by both American and British sealers from the 1820s onwards. The British called it Hospital Cove. There’s a commemorative plaque here that celebrates Captain Andrew MacFarlane who explored much of the Antarctic Peninsula in 1820.
The other great attraction here is the large Gentoo penguin colony, with over 4,000 breeding pairs making Yankee Harbor their home.
The landing beach here is terraced, and there is a melt-pool from the glacier on the eastern end. Depending on the conditions and breeding status of the penguins, some longer walks in the area are possible along the curved gravel spit.
As well as the penguins, skuas often nest here - their feathers camouflaging them against the rocky ground. Your guides will make sure you don’t step on any accidentally!
Interesting facts about Yankee Harbour
There are many artifacts from the days of sealing still littering the shoreline here. As well as the foundations of a sealer’s hut, there are the remains of a try pot that was used to render the blubber from the hunted animals. It has St. Katherine's Dock stamped on the side, the sealer's sailing all the way from London. The dock was right next to the Tower of London and St. Katherine's Dock is still in use, as the dock for luxurious yachts just to the south of Tower Bridge! Your Antarctic expert guides will be able to tell you the history of sealing here and the harshness of the lives these men had.