Myth of the Ship-holder. 299 



wind was W.N.W., a gentle breeze and water quite smooth. 



We had all sails set and made about 3^ knots. At 



10 A.M., when we were aljout 12 naut. miles S.W. of Cerigo, 



the brig no longer answered her helm and began to go up 



northward to the wind. We woiked the helm but to no 



avail. We backed the yards and shivered the braces and 



made all conceivable manoeuvres, but the ship only turned 



a little and went back again. The little wind we had, 



seemed to be the same as Ijef'ore, and there were many ships 



in company both to port and starboard of us, whicii sailed 



away, whilst we were lying as if at anchor. Yet there was 



one sail about 8 miles to port of us in the same predicament. 



"In this manner we lay for 1| hours, when the ship 



began to glide and fall to leeward a little. We then got the 



head sails filled and had the aftersails shivering, and without 



any command of the helm the vessel got down into its 



course. The most remarkable thing was, however, that 



when I stood afore, I saw a long stripe stretching from the 



bow far over the water on each side dividing the water into 



two parts. The water around the ship was light gray, but 



ahead of the stripe it was wholly dark. These stripes 



seemed by and by to move aft .... of course it was the ship 



that began to glide slowly onward .... and after 5 or 6 



minutes when the stripes had passed along the ship and had 



left the stern and the rudder, then, at that same moment, 



the ship again answered her helm and made head-way. 



The wind was about the same — W.N.W. by W. a gentle 



breeze. We made 3 knots, but no more, in the afternoon. 



" When we approached Cerigo, the ship was about to get 

 into dead-water again, but by working the rudder to and 

 fro, we steered again, and after that, we did not feel the 

 (lead-water any more. 



" The ship, during its long voyage, had become very dirty 

 and overgrown with barnacles of 10 or 15 cm. in length, 

 which may have had some effect.'^ 



I'rom Ekman's quotations from his correspondents as to 

 the occurrence of dead-water around Scandinavia, the 

 following short excerpts are taken. In perusing them the 

 reader is asked to bear in mind the very words of the 

 quotations concerning the actions of ships found in the first 

 section of this paper. 



The ' Fram ' being in dead-water off Taimur Island .... 

 " It may therefore be supposed that the speed was reduced 

 to about a fiftli of what it would otherwise have been'^: 

 and when steam was cut off at 100-150 metres from the 

 buoy, the speed was so reduced that the engine had to be 



