38 THE OCEAN FLOOR 



coring operations masterfully, and WeibuU (for the first 

 part of the cruise) , the "Albatross" set out from the har- 

 bor of Goteborg for an expedition scheduled to last fif- 

 teen months.^ In fact we were back one day before the 

 expiration of this time limit, on October 3, 1948. The 

 ship was ably commanded by Captain N. Krafft and 

 among the crew there were twelve young apprentice sea- 

 men, who had eagerly seized the opportunity of getting 

 their training on a scientific expedition and who carried 

 out their share of the work with a will. 



The course followed is shown on the rough map in 

 Figure 17. Although the "Albatross" was excellent for 

 seaworthiness and afforded ample space for all our lab- 

 oratories and storerooms, air conditioned for work in the 

 tropics, its engine power was rather low. Only in a very 

 smooth sea and with fair weather did it attain a speed of 

 eight to nine knots. Partly for this reason, partly because 

 our very heavy, long coring tubes required fair weather, 

 we laid the course mainly within or near the regions of 

 the equatorial calms, where the chances of favorable 

 working conditions were optimal. We had, in fact, great 

 luck with the weather, meeting only one heavy gale, at 

 the entrance to the Indian Ocean; and the average speed 

 could be kept at the precalculated seven knots. 



Owing to the strict limits of time, money, and number 

 of scientists accompanying the cruise, our program of 

 work also had to be restricted. Several projects we were 

 obliged with great reluctance to forego, such as meas- 

 uring the bottom currents and studying deep-sea 



