43 

 was to open his mouth, and I had many battles and learnt a lot. 

 You learn far more from those who resent or dislike you than 

 you do from your friends. 



After polite introductions and preliminary words, Bruce-Bays 

 questioned me, quite sharply at first, but as I warmed to the 

 subject, the tension eased and he was soon deeply interested in all 

 I had to say. The many ramifications of the discovery soon con- 

 vinced him that it was not just an old fish but something of very 

 much greater importance. He forgot my apparent youth, my lack 

 of flesh and my clothes, his doubts had clearly evaporated, and 

 his parting words and handshake were warm, almost enthusiastic. 



Miss Latimer had left no stone unturned to find out all she 

 could about the circumstances covering the actual catching of the 

 animal, and in response to my queries told me that the trawler 

 had been working the usual grounds along the coast westwards of 

 East London. On the 22nd December 1938, Captain Goosen 

 decided to return, and on the way back thought it might be 

 advisable to have a run on the bank off the Chalumna River 

 mouth, an area that is normally poor but sometimes yields good 

 catches. So here was another link in the story, one of the many 

 fantastic chances. A trawler captain's impulse ! If he had not 

 acted on it ? Captain Goosen sent me an account of that trawl. 

 The net was shot about three miles off-shore, some twenty miles 

 south-west of East London, the depth close on forty fathoms. 

 The course was roughly elliptical, the axes about three and six 

 miles respectively, the closest approach to the shore being about 

 two miles. They ended the run about three miles off-shore where 

 the depth was about forty fathoms, the average depth trawled. 

 That particular area where they trawled was on the inshore part 

 of a submarine shelf about ten miles wide, that slopes gradually 

 to about sixty fathoms in depth at the edge, which is abrupt, 

 and plunges to about two hundred fathoms. The bottom of this 

 shoreward shelf is foul and trawling troublesome and difficult. 

 In this case their catch proved to consist of about a ton and a half 

 of edible fish, not the highest grade, about two tons of sharks, 

 and — one Coelacanth ! 



