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CHAPTER III 



VOYAGE TO NEW ZEALAND 



Arrival at Cowes — Visit of the King — Sailing from Cowes — Madeira — 

 Crossing the Line — South Trinidad — Arrival at the Cape — Simon's 

 Bay — At Sea in the Westerlies — Alarm of Fire — First Encounter 

 with the Ice — Southern Birds — Macquarie Island — Lyttelton, New 

 Zealand — Preparations for Final Departure — Departure from Lyttel- 

 ton — Fatal Accident — Final Departure from Civilisation. 



They saw the cables loosened, they saw the gangways cleared, 

 They heard the women weeping, they heard the men who cheered. 

 Far off — far off the tumult faded and died away, 

 And all alone the sea wind came singing up the Bay. — Newbolt, 



In spite of difficulties and delays in the delivery of the ship 

 and in stocking her with the complicated equipment which 

 had been provided, the ' Discovery' left the London Docks on 

 the last day of July 1901, and slowly wended her way down 

 the Thames. 



Late on August i we arrived at Spithead, here to carry out 

 that most important matter of swinging the ship. It may not 

 be generally known that all ships, before proceeding on a 

 voyage, are ' swung ' — that is, are turned slowly round, whilst 

 the errors of their compasses on each point are eliminated by 

 the application of correcting magnets. Although the great 

 care taken in building the 'Discovery' to keep all iron away 

 from the neighbourhood of the compass rendered the use of 

 correcting magnets unnecessary, yet it had been impossible to 

 banish the disturbing causes wholly, and it was most necessary 

 to find out exactly what influence they had, not only on the 



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