Published: Tuesday, 30th December, 2008 12:00pm

Great Scott! Sight-impaired local man returns from Antarctic expedition

Visually impaired Athlone resident Jimmy Scott has been all over the world to raise money for the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI). He recently returned from one of his most ambitious expeditions to date.

Asked about his 11-day voyage to Antarctica, he stated: 'It was a fantastic experience. It was definitely up there with the best of the trips I"ve been on.'

A native of Elphin, Co Roscommon, Jimmy works as a switchboard operator at Athlone"s Custume Barracks. He needed to plan well in advance to raise the €10,000 required to go on the trip to the southernmost part of the globe.

His fundraising effort began in Athlone in November 2007 and ticket sales for a car draw, as well as welcome sponsorship from businesses in Athlone, Elphin, and surrounding areas, meant he was able to achieve his fundraising target.

His namesake Robert F Scott"s expedition to the South Pole in 1910-12 was made into the film "Scott of the Antarctic." Robert F Scott never made it home from the Antarctic, but Jimmy"s trip was not quite as tumultuous.

He set off with 22 others, all of whom were raising money for the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI), and they arrived at Ushuaia, Argentina, which is the world"s southernmost town.

From there it was off on a 10-day sail to the Antarctic which involved crossing the notorious Drake Passage. This body of water - between the southern tip of South America and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica - is regarded as having some of the roughest sea weather on the planet.

Most days the group was able to set foot on land, but, even though their visit came during the "summer" season in Antarctica, the wind chill factor brought temperatures as low as minus twenty degrees celsius on some occasions.

Along the way the group encountered no shortage of wildlife, with seals, birds and penguins particularly plentiful. Sightings of killer whales were also reported.

Jimmy stated that some of his companions were affected by sea sickness on the trip but that he personally was not.

His highlight of the voyage was 'simply reaching that continent, which is something I never thought would be possible.'

Jimmy - who is registered blind - lost most of his sight in a traffic accident in Australia in 1989. The accident left him in a coma for six weeks and he was in hospital for a total of six months.

After making a gradual recovery, which involved several operations on his eyes, he was employed as a switchboard operator at Custume Barracks in February 1995. He has been working there ever since.

In recent years he"s been involved in fundraising through the National Council for the Blind"s "Terracotta Ramblers" group, and he has gone on trekking and climbing expeditions to Majorca, Argentina, Tibet and Vietnam.

In 2009, he hopes to join other National Council for the Blind members on a hiking trip to Cape Town, South Africa. 'It"s the only continent I"ve never been on, so that will be the next challenge,' he commented.