ICELAND 95- 



anchor in Reykjavik Roads surrounded by assorted small naval 

 craft — trawlers and a frigate or two, all yawing this way and that 

 across the wind. Anchor watch was set in Challenger — an officer 

 posted on the bridge to observe bearings of objects ashore to 

 detect whether the ship was dragging her anchors — while a small 

 party of seamen were huddled beneath the bridge superstructure 

 waiting to veer more cable or to work the engine-room telegraphs ; 

 down in the engine room all was ready for slow speed. Anchor 

 watch is a dreary business which may last for days at a time in 

 these stormy seas ; but on this occasion it was soon to be proved 

 most necessary. A trawler anchored ahead of Challenger began to 

 drag her anchors and was soon driving down rapidly towards the 

 ship. The officer on the bridge ordered the cable party to veer 

 cable, and by going slow ahead with the wheel hard to starboard 

 he managed to stop the ship from sheering across the wind for 

 long enough to allow the trawler to go careering down the port 

 side of Challenger and just clear of her. The trawler went ashore, 

 and she could easily have taken Challenger with her. 



It can be seen that the visits to Reykjavik away from the survey 

 ground were not as restful as they might have been. One night 

 Brian O'Neill and Geoffrey Hall were dining and dancing at the 

 Borg Hotel with some charming Icelandic girls when the Naval 

 Staff Officer (Operations) came over to their table with a grim 

 expression and asked Hall to step outside into the foyer for a 

 moment. Arrived there, he handed Hall a letter, saying that it was 

 for the Captain of Challenger and that he should deliver it onboard 

 as soon as possible. Hall asked what the letter might contain 

 that made it so urgent, to be told that it carried news of a German 

 convoy which had been sighted off the south-east coast of Iceland, 

 steaming in a westerly direction and heavily escorted. The convoy 

 was expected to reach Reykjavik about noon next day. 



Hall signalled to O'Neill and both made excuses to their party, 

 saying they had been ordered back to the ship, and took their 

 hurried departure. As they made their way to the landing stage 

 the seriousness of the situation came home to them, giving them 

 a feeling of excitement mingled with fear. There were very few 

 offensive ships in Iceland at this time and Challenger carried only 

 two small pom-poms. Signals by torch from the jetty to the ship 



