GAMBIA RIVER l2l 



French Senegal, the boundary of which lay little more than five 

 miles from the river bank in many places upstream. 



However, it was only in a few places that it would be possible 

 to land troops on the north bank and these must be investigated 

 before any plan to attack Senegal from inland was developed. 

 Native hearsay indicated a number of small landing places which 

 might be suitable between Albreda and Kuntaur, a township about 

 150 miles upstream. 



In 1826 Captain Owen, during his famous four-year survey of 

 the coast of Africa, had sent his nephew up the Gambia River as 

 far as Kuntaur and his chart was the only existing information in 

 1 94 1. Much could have changed in the past 100 years. So 

 Challenger was ordered to survey the river up to the limit of 

 navigation and at the same time to carry out inspections of the 

 landing places on the north bank, said to exist at Salekine Point, 

 Mendora Creek, Kasban Creek, Devil Point, Bombale Kaua and 

 Nianmaru. 



This expedition would serve a double purpose as the ship was 

 by now heavily covered with growth below the water-line and 

 her speed was down to 7I knots when steaming at her normal 

 revolutions, instead of 10. Challenger would require 12 knots 

 steaming at full speed if she was to keep up with the convoy when 

 she set out for England again. Commander Jenks believed that 

 if he spent a week at Kuntaur in the fresh water the ship would 

 shake oft the heavy growth which had accumulated in the brack- 

 ish water of the lower reaches of the river. In fact this proved to 

 be the case. 



Oft Albreda there was a small island, composed mainly of the 

 ruins of an old fort, and on this had been placed the furthest 

 upstream triangulation station. St. James Island was to be the 

 fixed point of departure for the long river survey. Here both 

 echo sounding motor boats were lowered and took station 45- 

 degrees on either bow of the ship, keeping their distance by 

 maintaining a constant vertical sextant angle between the ship's 

 masthead and her water-line. The ship streamed the taut wire and 

 on every occasion on which she altered course a sinker was slid 

 down the wire to anchor it on the turn. By steering gyro compass 

 courses and using the taut wire distances the length and direction 

 of each leg of the long, long traverse were obtained. 



