THE RECENT SURVEY 33i 



than the others. A constant look-out was kept for the less obvious and therefore more 

 dangerous obstacles to navigation which from time to time have been reported or charted 

 by whalers, obstacles such as small isolated rocks situated far off the main coasts, sunken 

 reefs or shoal patches ; and although on occasion we engaged in a fruitless search, the posi- 

 tions of those that were found were accurately determined. The waters surrounding the 

 group were sounded by our echo machines, special attention being given to straits and 

 narrow passages and the approaches to harbours. We entered and sounded in most of the 

 bays which occur profusely throughout the group. In narrow waters and when close 

 inshore, we sounded every minute or every two minutes, and even in deeper water 

 farther off the land the interval between observations rarely exceeded five minutes. In 

 all about 2250 soundings were made. Once or twice exceedingly narrow channels between 

 off-lying islets and the mainland were carefully sounded and proved to be navigable by 

 the obvious and satisfactory method of steaming slowly through them. Our speed 

 while surveying was slow, rather less than three knots, and as a rule we kept as close 

 inshore as possible, being often little more than two or three cables off the land. 



The heights of the smaller islands, of the islets and rocks as well as of all prominent 

 features along the coasts we surveyed, were fixed en route from the ship. On the rare 

 occasions when it was possible to climb, the altitudes of a few of the lower and more 

 accessible peaks on Coronation, Laurie, Powell and Signy Islands were determined 

 by aneroid. None of the greater peaks was climbed. Their ascent, although practicable, 

 presents considerable technical difficulties, especially on Coronation Island, and in any 

 case would have required much preparation and more time than we could have spared. 

 Once, when the ship was anchored in Borge Bay, we set out by whaler with the 

 object of climbing a considerable peak on Coronation Island, but when we had crossed 

 Normanna Strait heavy mist came down, hiding the high land, and although we went 

 ashore and did some work on the coast while waiting for conditions to improve our time 

 was limited, and we were compelled to return to the ship without having attempted our 

 objective. The heights of a number of these peaks, however, were fixed from the sea 

 whenever the summer mist lifted and left their summits clear. 



Although we took full advantage of the daylight hours as long as the weather was clear, 

 it was essential for the safety of the vessel that work should cease while there was yet 

 enough light to find a harbour where she could be securely moored before darkness set 

 in. As a rule we anchored about 8 p.m. and got under way shortly before nine in the 

 morning — sometimes earlier if the weather was exceptionally fine, or later if it failed to 

 clear — and work continued throughout the day until evening, when as the light began 

 to fail we sought sheher again for the night. In a short time we became acquainted with 

 all the better-known harbours of the group, Scotia Bay, Uruguay Cove, Ellefsen Harbour, 

 Borge Bay and Sandefjord Bay, and with several less frequented anchorages such as 

 Wilton Bay, Brown Bay, the western approach to Sandefjord Bay, and others. 



The sixteen days during which we lay at anchor were by no means unproductive. 

 Much of the time was occupied in obtaining the necessai-y observations for land fixes, 

 in plotting and working up the heavy accumulation of earlier observations that they 



