20 THE SHIP AND HER COMPLEMENT 



place at the Royal Naval Dockyards in Copenhagen, and in accommoda- 

 tion and equipment the Galathea was both up-to-date and well-adapted 

 to deep-sea research. Her size was exactly right and her installations and 

 gear just what the scientists wanted; only one thing was lacking which 

 we would have liked had funds permitted — an air-conditioning plant. 

 Air-conditioning is one of the great modern conveniences of the Tropics; 

 and though normally it is a little cooler at sea than on land owing to 

 wind and the ship's movement, the Galathea's research work often com- 

 pelled us to travel at a slow speed, and all whose quarters were over the 

 engine-room had a hot time. 



For exploring the sea the ship had a large trawl winch on the quarter- 

 deck, coupled to an electric manoeuvring winch. The trawl winch weighed 

 about lo tons and the trawl wire something like it. At first we employed 

 an eight-kilometre wire, with a four-kilometre wire held in reserve, but 

 at Singapore we exchanged the eight-kilometre wire for a 12 -kilometre 

 one with a view to the approaching study of the Philippine Trench. In 

 order to save weight, this was specially spun so as to give it a diameter 

 of 22 millimetres at one end tapering to nine millimetres at the other end. 

 It was tested for strengths between seven and 34 tons, breaking stress 

 varying with diameter. 



We had a further reserve wire measuring eight kilometres which was 

 kept on shore and transferred from port to port, first to Singapore and 

 then to Manila, as we proceeded. There is always a risk of a wire breaking, 

 either by fouling rocks or stones on the bottom or by getting a kink owing 

 to being paid out too fast in relation to the ship's speed. In both cases the 



The Galathea in 

 Perseverance Harbour, 

 Campbell Island. 



