Tony Soper has a Narrow Escape in the South Atlantic

Bird On! News
20th April 1997

The naturalist and broadcaster Tony Soper, who writes articles for Bird On! wherever he is in the world, has recently sent us the following message which we reproduce here (with his permission). We send Tony our best wishes for a rapid recovery.

"A quick note to say that I am back home from Molchanov.

It has been an eventful trip. The Falkland Islands and South Georgia were fine; we were lucky with the weather. But in Cooper Bay on 3 March the crane cable parted as I was being swung inboard and the zodiac fell six feet to the after deck, closely followed by the hook and block, which broke my right leg. An army doctor patched me temporarily in Grytviken the same day and gave me full leg plaster. We reached Port Stanley five days later where a Royal Navy surgeon fixed me up with a beautiful stainless steel plate. I was Medivac'd home by RAF Tristar to hospital in Plymouth, and sent home yesterday to lie quietly, leg up in the air and think of England. Anyway, I was lucky: I usually hang from the hook but this time was holding the sling and thus a few inches away from the main fall of the block...

Am just fine; more frustrated than anything. Hope to be back in circulation in a few months.

Best wishes to all.... Tony"