SCHOONER CHANCE 29 



closed successfully. Three weeks ago we never could have taken a 

 station in such a swell. It was impossible to stand on deck without 

 holding on to something. 



With the help of the winch we got the mainsail up and went fly- 

 ing off another 20 miles to station C which we finished about 4 :30. 

 From then on until seven-thirty it got very much rougher and blew 

 much harder. Seas broke all over the deck even drenching the man 

 at the wheel. The lee rail was under water half the time. She 

 was doing a steady eight knots in spite of the swell and nobody 

 cared how rough the going was as long as we were getting some- 

 where. Supper again was a pretty uncomfortable meal but after a 

 while it let up and we took our third station for the day in much 

 better condition. 



Just before we hove to, I was at the wheel and nearly ran down a 

 large whale. He came up right abeam but going a little faster and 

 then changed his course so as to pass under our bow. His flooks 

 could not have been 30 feet away when they disappeared. 



A good cup of hot chocolate after finishing the station and a 

 talk forward ended off the day nicely. 



The northern lights were particularly fine just before bed. Our 

 day's run was 73 miles and we had completed three stations. 



I Position Scindwich Bay Section 

 Friday, July ^oth < Weather Hazy 



I Wind Light and variable 



THE early morning was calm and misty. As the alarm goes off 

 without waking me up, we all oversleep. Nobody even stuck 

 his head out until breakfast time. The wind was from the west, 

 just allowing us to head our course. The going was so slow that we 

 only reached our next station after lunch. However, the morning 

 was a very pleasant one, sunny and warm compared to the last three 



