description of the islands 355 



Season 191 3-14 



'Polynesia', ' Thitle', ' Normanna' . No ice details are given other than that there was less pack in 

 the neighbourhood of the islands than in the season before. The season, however, was regarded as 

 an open one. All three vessels lay in Borge Bay on the east coast of Signy Island (see p. 326). 



Season 19 14-15 



'Falkland'. Pack-ice in a solid sheet surrounded the group for 100 miles to the north so that the 

 'Falkland' was unable to reach her anchorage (Borge Bay) until as late as January 19. According to 

 Argentine observations ^ there was ice in the neighbourhood of the group until February 17 and the 

 winter pack arrived on April 20. 



The Period 191 5-21 



I have been unable to obtain access to ice observations of the vessels that visited the South 

 Orkneys during this period. Details of the ice conditions in the neighbourhood of Laurie Island 

 throughout this period, together with the dates of the opening and closing of Scotia Bay, will be 

 found in Mossman, 1922, Las Condicioncs Fisicas del Atldntico Sur, etc. 



Season 192 1-2 



'Quest', Frank Wild, March 14.-21, 1922. During this period the 'Quest' was beset in approxi- 

 mately 63° 51' S, 45° 13' W, about 180 miles south of the islands." 



Season 1922-3 



'Orwell' {old), December 15, 1922. The season appears to have been an open one. The 'Orwell' 

 reached the land on December 15. It is not stated how long she remained. 



Season 1923-4 



* Orwell' {old), November 7, i^2T,-January 9, 1924. The season was not an open one. On November 

 7 the ' Orwell ' met the ice-edge north of the group in 58° S and was unable to reach the land until 

 January 5. For some time afterwards there was apparently a good deal of pack in the neighbourhood 

 of the islands, the entrance to Borge Bay being blocked from January 5 to 9. No other details are 

 given. 



Season 1924-5 



'Orwell' {old). The season was an open one. 



Season 1925-6 



'Orweir {nezv), December 20, igz^-April 7, 1926. A long and open season. On December 20 the 

 pack apparently lay just north of the islands. The 'Orwell' reached harbour on December 29 and 

 whaling continued from then until April 7. 



Season 1926-7 



'Orwell' {new) and other factory ships, November 12, igzb-March 30, 1927. On November 12, 

 1926, the 'Orwell' met the pack about sixty miles north-west of the group. Between that date and 

 December 12 she whaled on the ice-edge, gradually coming nearer to the South Orkneys as the pack 

 dispersed. On December 13 she entered Borge Bay. The season was a bad one for ice, the islands 

 never being wholly clear of the pack. On several occasions in February the anchorages on the 

 southern side of the group were completely blocked, the whale-catchers being unable to reach their 

 parent ships for days on end. 



' Mossman, R. C, 1922, loc. cit., supra, pp. 11-12. 



2 Wild, F., 1923, Shackleton's last Voyage, pp. 145-7 (London). 



