The young elephant seals at Gryviken were just learning to swim and the broken pier that once serviced the whale-catching boats is now a popular swimming hole. So too are the sunken remains of the 'Louise' – a wooden vessel originally used to transport the men and materials necessary to establish the Grytviken whaling station in 1904. What little remains of the ship now forms a sheltered pool where young seals can bask and practice their swimming in calm, protected waters.