OFF CHATHAM BARS 
197 
POMARINE JAEGER. “GREAT POWERFUL JAEGERS WERE PASSING” 
Strong- and we had taken a double reef before starting. There 
was also wind enough outside, we could see, but right here 
was a slack place, and we could not stem the strong incoming 
tide. So we had to anchor and shake out the reef. Then came 
some breaker-dodging tactics, but we got outside the bar by 
noon and stood off to the southward, toward the Pollock Rip 
light-ship, which we could dimly see, and then offshore. 
It proved to be the most wonderful day for jaegers in all 
my experience in these waters, with one possible exception. 
Wdthin a mile of the bars we began to see them, and several 
miles out they were flying about in large numbers, in all sorts 
of plumage, and some shearwaters as well, with a few of the 
rare Corv’s Shearwater, which I had not seen for years. 
I wish I could have a painting of that scene. The sky was 
