Part III: Antarctica and Academe - Scott Polar Research Institute

the geminis; so we went on around Cape Dundas to the rest of Laurie Island. For
the most part it was bounded by cliffs, but there may be access points or beaches
for seals. There were certainly vast numbers of penguins in several very large
pink colonies.
So we made a large turn eastwards to avoid shoal water off the east coast, and
looking at the coast to Fraser Point through binoculars it appeared to be an
unlikely area for fur seals, except at the Cape Dundas isthmus. We launched the
Geminis off Cape Valavielle to count seals in Marr Bay, where 15 fur seals were
found. We also landed the trerrestrial biologists for an hour or so. We also got a
good haul of Weddells. It was sunny, but very windy and we were drenched in
the spray. Then the Geminis were launched, to complete the count, landing at
Cape Geddes, where there were 145 male fur seals, but no indication of breeding.
The old FIDS hut was still standing in good condition and the fur seals were on a
piece of flattish ground north east of it, and on two small sheltered beaches. Owen
and I carried on the count along the shores of MacDougall Bay, counting another
21 fur seal. Returning to Cape Geddes to pick up the others we landed on a small
floe which held 10 Weddells, but was so slippery that we had to give up after
examining only 2 of them for tags. We also saw 5 leopards on a small berg. It
seemed clear that the penguin feathers one sees are not all vomited, but pass
through in the faeces. While we had been counting in Brown's Bay the Biscoe had
been making a trawl haul and we anchored in MacDougall Bay for the night.
Next day was another good one as we left for Saddle Island, a precipitous pair
of islands, separated by a very narrow channel. The two peaks are symmetrical
and sharply conical, rising to 1400 ft. Before lunch we did a trawl, north of the
islands and then moved around their western end, examining the coast carefully,
to anchor south of them. We landed Jerry, Humph and Mac and then did a seal
count of the south coast, finding only 12 fur seals - bringing the total so far to l995
- and 26 Weddells, before anchoring for the night. The ship went south to Route
Point where Andy, Owen and I examined the coast from the gemini, finding very
few seals and very few suitable sites. Before lunch, after a short trawl south of
Washington Strait, we moved towards Cape Dundas and landed a shore party to
the northwest of it, Biscoe went off to do a trawl. Then at 4,30 pm Andy, Owen
and I went in by gemini to do a seal count along the southwest coast, first around
Graptolite Island, seeing only 1 fur seal, then along the mainland, where there
was a number of beaches holding elephant seals and on one 18 fur seals. We
picked up the shore party and continued the count, finding to our surprise 61
Weddells on one small beach - a remarkable concentration, many of them tagged.
There were a few more on off-lying rocks, making a hundred on a very short
stretch of coast.
We spent the night drifting south of Laurie Island and by 9 o’clock were off
Rayner Point in poor visibility and driving snow. We went in by gemini but saw
only one Weddell; the coast here was not suitable for seals. Then south around
the Robertson Islands and in to Saunders' Point. The visibility was very poor,
owing to Föhn cloud and drift snow, but it cleared and so we lowered the boats
and the three of us set off to count from Saunders Point to Sunshine Glacier, south
coast of Coronation Island. Inshore the Föhn wind was blowing very strongly off
the glaciers and it was bitterly cold. We got quite wet with spray as usual. There
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