HMS Clyde Tours South Georgia

Royal Navy’s HMS Clyde recently paid a visit to the isolated island paradise of South Georgia where the winter is fast approaching.

Before icebergs, growlers, bergy bits and mountainous seas set in, the patrol ship left her more regular waters around the Falklands and headed out across 860 miles of the South Atlantic.

Aboard, aside from her 40 or so sailors, were two bomb-disposal experts to deal with unexploded ordnance found on the island over the summer and a structural engineer to assess the state of the derelict whaling station at Grytviken.

Once at King Edward Point, and with her passengers at work ashore, the sailors began to sample South Georgia’s stunning wildlife.

Some went for a hike, while others met up with the island’s British Antarctic Survey scientists, whose job is to ensure South Georgia’s largely-unspoiled environment remains that way.

The ship’s visit also allowed her to carry seven staff back from South Georgia to the Falklands – the team at King Edward Point spend anywhere between 16 and 24 months at a time there.

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Image: Royal Navy