Brown records that of the original eight dogs, four survived the expedition; they "pulled well in harness, their only weak point being their paws which... were apt to be cut when on rough ice". Expedition First voyage, 1902–1903 Scotia left Troon, Scotland, on 2 November 1902. On her way southward she called at the Irish port of Kingstown (now Dún Laoghaire), at Funchal in Madeira, and then the Cape Verde Isles before an unsuccessful attempt was made to land at the tiny, isolated equatorial archipelago known as St Paul's Rocks. This attempt almost cost the life of the expedition's geologist and medical officer, James Harvie Pirie, who was fortunate to escape from the shark-infested seas after misjudging his leap ashore. Scotia reached Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands on 6 January 1903, where she re-provisioned for the Antarctic journey ahead. On 26 January, Scotia set sail for Antarctic waters. The crew had to manoeuvre round heavy pack ice on 3 February, north of the South Orkney Islands. Next day, Scotia was able to move southward again and land a small party on Saddle Island, South Orkney Islands, where a large number of botanical and geological specimens were gathered. Ice conditions prevented any further progress until 10 February, after which Scotia continued southward, "scudding along at seven knots under sail". On 17 February the position was 64°18′S, and five days later they passed 70°S, deep within the Weddell Sea. Shortly after this, with new ice forming and threatening the ship, Robertson turned northward, having reached 70°25′S. Having failed to find land, the expedition had to decide where to winter. The matter was of some urgency, since the sea would soon be freezing over, with the risk of the ship becoming trapped. Bruce decided to head back to the South Orkneys and find an anchorage there. In contrast to his stated object, to winter as far south as possible, the South Orkneys were more than from the South Pole, but the northerly location had advantages. The relatively brief period during which the ship would be frozen in would allow more time for trawling and dredging operations early in the year. Also, the islands were well-situated as a site for a meteorological stationtheir relative proximity to the South American mainland opened the prospect of establishing a permanent station. It took a month of hard sailing before Scotia reached the islands. After several foiled