Beginning of Atlantic Ferry 65 



the Cape, for which she had been groping 

 for days on end! There was just room 

 to turn the boat round and head for the 

 open sea. The cause of this near squeak 

 was found to lie in a curious circumstance. 

 The spare compass was brought up for 

 comparison with the one in use, and a 

 third compass differed from the first two. 

 As most of you know, ship's compasses 

 are very carefully tested before they are 

 brought into use. Many of you will know 

 too, that iron laid in one position for a 

 considerable time tends to become mag- 

 netised. A sailor aboard, who had studied 

 magnetism, suggested that the deflection 

 of the compasses had been brought about 

 by their lying near a smoke-pipe. When 

 first fitted this pipe had been of brass, 

 but on the last overhaul of the ship an 

 iron one had been substituted. The sailor 

 suggested that this pipe had become mag- 

 netised. On testing it this was found to 

 be the case, so that one of the finest of 

 the Cunard fleet came near to disaster 



