THE STORMY RETURN CRUISE 



with fire in his eyes tumbled out of his bunk and 

 started up on deck to razz the disturber of our 

 rest. 



On the fifteenth the sea lay smooth under a 

 sunny sky with icebergs visible in every direction. 

 In our helpless condition it was evident to us that 

 we might drift in such a sea for a long time, and so 

 the captain has now prohibited altogether the use 

 of water for ablution. The order first went out 

 in the after-cabin, and Rasmussen, whose bunk is 

 there, slyly came into our midships cabin for a 

 shave but was caught in the act by the skipper. 



We managed with some difficulty to get into the 

 straits, but only to be caught by a half gale dead 

 ahead accompanied by a heavy sea and a bad tide. 

 As the straits are here barely nine miles in width 

 and the wind almost exactly dead ahead, we were 

 forced to sail in the trough first toward one shore, 

 where v/e would wear the ship, jibe and with wind 

 on the opposite beam sail to the other shore, where 

 this dangerous operation would be repeated. The 

 ship received fearful jolts at each reversal and no 

 headway whatever was made. 



For three long days in succession we kept up this 

 useless but necessary operation, all the time within 

 the area off Point L 'Amour. Throughout this 

 trying experience the skipper was almost constantly 



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