An Cosantóir

sport | 31 Our Principle Dive Leader, one of the National Geographic magazine's underwater photographers, was subjected to a leopard seal approaching and subsequent bite. He had experi- enced this behaviour before and wasn't reaching for his knife like everyone else. The seals sometimes bite to taste and to ascertain if they will eat what it finds. Luckily, neoprene was not on the menu and the seal then let go. Having crossed the Antarctic Circle at 66.50 south nothing would do but to take a plunge without dive gear and dry suit off the back deck, followed by a fast swim to the gangway and a long hot shower, sensation eventually returned. We contin- ued south to approx 67.50, where the ice build-up was slow- ing progress and bad weather prevented us from diving. The conditions were too bad even for landing at Detaille Island to pick up a group of researchers who were waiting for a lift out after five months work. The long trek back to Ushuaia began via Port Lockroy, a his- torical outpost run by the British Antarctic Survey, where four volunteers staff the site conducting research and maintenance during the summer (winter snows bury the buildings and make work impossible). Following a dive off this island we landed and were able to send a postcard home through the UK postal service run from Falklands. The dives that followed in the Yalour and Peterman Islands were some of the most spectacular with conditions perfect for diving under the ice floes. On one dive the route back to the ship was blocked due to the bay becoming blocked by ice floes and we had to chop our way through the floes to get to the ship, which had itself become encircled. The last area we visited and dived was Whalers Bay on De- ception Island, an island formed following a volcanic eruption which collapsed the side of the volcano and left the caldera open to the ocean. It was the site of a huge whaling station and during WWII was a base for some of the British operations carried out in the South Atlantic. The area was long since aban- doned but the waters hid fields of whale bone remnants left behind following the processing of many thousands of whales during the 19th and 20th centuries. With the ice well behind us there remained only the Drake Passage to be crossed again. Having seen the weather charts, watched the rapidly dropping barometer and seeing the appearance of sick bags along the passageways I reckoned it wasn't going to be an easy exit from the south, and I was right. A storm with 65-knot winds and 11m waves hit the ship directly on the bow reducing our speed to a mere five knots, seasick tablets were not going to be much use to anyone. Fol- lowing a very uncomfortable first day, during which I gained even greater respect for the work of the Naval Service, my situation improved following the intervention of an injection from the doctor. This brief visit to Antarctica, during which we travelled over 2,000 nautical miles, reinforced my views on the calibre of men like Tom Crean who spent months in this environment with very basic kit. The area is one of the most incredible and unpredictable environments I have ever been to and one that merits protecting. www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE

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