18 PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARTURE. 



from the vessels on either side of the river. At 

 Sheerness we were compelled to wait for gun- 

 ners' stores, and it was not till the 16th that we 

 were finally under weigh and clear of the river. 

 Baffling head-winds prevented me from discharg- 

 ing the steamer as I had intended at Flambo- 

 rough Head, and we were towed along at a slow 

 rate until, on the 21st, we reached the bay of 

 Aberdeen. The wind, which for some days had 

 been squally, had now freshened to a gale, and, 

 as it was impossible to make any advance, the 

 vessel was brought to an anchor. The watering 

 was completed, and, in accordance with a plan 

 on which I had previously determined, the re- 

 maining leisure was employed in converting the 

 ship into a barque. To nautical men, especially 

 those accustomed to polar navigation, it is unne- 

 cessary to explain the advantages of the change ; 

 but to the uninitiated it may be proper to men- 

 tion, that the difference consists in the more simple 

 rigging of the mizen-mast, whereby several sails, 

 in themselves of no great use, being dispensed 

 with, the vessel is more easily worked, and many 

 hands are set free for other duties essential in 

 the difficult navigation through the ice. The 

 superfluous spars, which would have only en- 

 cumbered us, were placed on board the Rhada- 

 manthus and returned to Chatham. 



Even as it was, our decks presented a singular 



