112 FARTHEST NORTH 



Before leaving the Frar.i for good I ought, perhaps, to 

 give a short account of the equipment we finally decided 

 on as the most likely to suit our purposes. 



I have already mentioned the two kayaks that 

 had been made during the course of the winter, 

 and that we required to have with us in order to 

 cross possible diannels and pools, and also for use 

 when we sh come to open sea. Instead of these 



kayaks, I had at first thought of taking ready-made can- 

 vas boat -covers, and of using the sledges as frames to 

 stretch them over. By this means a craft perfectly 

 capable of carr\ing us over lanes and short bits of open 

 sea could have been rigged up in a very short space of 

 time. I subsequently gave up this idea, however, and 

 decided on the kayak, a craft with which I was fa- 

 miliar, and which I knew would render valuable assist- 

 ance in several respects. Even if we had been able to 

 contrive a cover for the sledges in such a manner that a 

 boat could have been got ready in a short space of time, 

 it would not have been such quick work as simply 

 launching a ready-made kayak. Added to this, the craft 

 would, necessarily, have been heavy to row ; and when it 

 was a question of long distances in open water, such as 

 along the coasts of Franz Josef Land, or across thence 

 to Spitzbergen, much time would have been lost. One 

 consideration indeed, and that of some moment, was the 

 saving in weight if the sledges were made use of; but 

 even this was not of so much importance as it seemed, 



