1^2 CHALLENGER 



the Torres Strait as the master of the vessel Banda had found them. 

 But although Thomson found no letters, he located the benchmark 

 and saw the name of H. M.S. Fly beautifully carved upon the vs^alls 

 of the cave. 



The tides of the Torres Straits are extremely complicated, for 

 the strait connects tvs^o areas in which, as the Admiralty Tide 

 Tables say, 'the tides differ remarkably'. Sometimes it is high 

 water in one area when it is low water in the other, which causes 

 strong tidal streams to rush from the higher level to the lower. 

 Challenger, measuring the rate of these streams at frequent points 

 along the channel, found them to flow at times at speeds up to 

 eight knots, so that it can be imagined how difficult this made 

 the dragging of the sweeps along the channel. 



To find the tidal reductions hour by hour throughout each day 

 so that the sweeps could be set to the required depths it was 

 necessary to establish a whole chain of tide-watching camps, for 

 the time of high and low water differed considerably along each 

 leg of the route. Starting with a camp on Booby Island, parties 

 were landed to make camp on Goods, Round and Hammond 

 Islands, Ince Point, Twin and Sue Islands. 



Round Island is small and covered with dry scrub. It is only 

 about 400 yards across in any one direction, and this was one of the 

 places where two men were to camp for a month to watch the tide- 

 pole. A team from the ship helped to land their stores and to pitch 

 their tents, and then with much talk about Robinson Crusoe and 

 Man Friday the helpers manned their boat and headed out for the 

 ship, waiting impatiently offshore. The two men were left in their 

 owTi little kingdom, and after a brief look around they decided 

 to fall back upon the sailors' stand-by and to make themselves a 

 cup of tea while they thought of the long days ahead and what 

 they would do when they were not actually reading the tidepole. 



As Round Island was sinking below the horizon astern of the 

 ship the Officer of the Watch happened to look back. A billowing 

 cloud of smoke rose above the island ; if atomic bombs had been 

 known at this time it would have been assumed that this was one 

 of them. The ship turned and made her best speed back to the 

 island while those on the bridge looked anxiously through their 

 binoculars to see what was happening. The whole island was 

 furiously on fire, and no sign of camp or campers could be seen. 



