CHAPTER VII. 



DASSEN ISLAND. 



SEVEN DAYS after leaving Tristan da Cunha we 

 sighted Table Mountain, and a few hours later 

 the anchor was dropped in Table Bay. 



During the week at sea between the Tristan 

 Islands and the Cape we had a strong west wind 

 which was most favourable for sailing, and one 

 day's run under these conditions was 275 miles. 



During our second day at sea, when nearly 

 400 miles from Tristan da Cunha, an Antarctic 

 skua and many terns* were met with. These 

 birds must wander many hundreds of miles from 

 land, and, as they were not likely to have been 

 migrating, it is probable that they follow shoals 

 of small fish, and thus in time get into mid-ocean 

 and far from land. Great numbers of petrels 

 and albatroses were also seen, and, indeed, birds 

 were more numerous in this part of the South 

 Atlantic than elsewhere in the oceans that we 

 visited. Petrels of several species were frequent, 

 either singly or in large flocks, while yellow-nosed 



* Sterna vittata. 



