
THE ZOOLOGIST. 
THIRD SERIES. 



Vou. XIII.) JANUARY, 1889. [No. 145. 


NOTES ON A VOYAGE TO THE GREENLAND SEA 
IN 1888. 
By Ropert Gray. 
[Since the publication of my notes on a voyage to the Greenland Sea 
in 1886 (Zool. 1887, pp. 48, 94, 121), I have twice visited the Arctic Seas, 
viz. in 1887, and during the present year. The ‘ Eclipse,’ the vessel in 
which I sailed, is a full-rigged ship of 450 tons burden, fitted with auxiliary 
engines of 80 h.p., nominal. She carries eight whale-boats, and is manned 
by a crew of fifty-five, all told. She is still commanded by my father, 
Capt. David Gray, who has now completed his fortieth voyage as Master 
of a whaler to the Arctic Seas. As in 1886, the main object of our voyage 
was the capture of the Greenland-Right Whale, Balena mysticetus, the 
price of whose whalebone has now made it at once the most valuable, and 
one of the rarest of all the Mammalia. In the following communication 
I propose giving a brief account of our voyage, a few extracts from my 
‘Log,’ with occasional remarks and observations on some of the animals 
we met with, and the more important phenomena of the Greenland Sea.— 
R. G.] 
Leravine Peterhead on April 16th, the ‘ Hclipse,’ having called 
at Lerwick, where twenty-five Shetland men were shipped, two 
days afterwards finally set sail for the Greenland Sea. From 
the Shetlands the whalers usually steer N.N.E. towards the island 
of Jan Mayen; but, owing to the strong easterly winds which 
prevailed, we were driven far to the westward, out of our course. 
On the 20th we weathered the Feroes, passed within 120 miles 
of Iceland on the 22nd, and on the 26th, in lat. 69° 20’, long. 
ZOOLOGIST.—JAN. 1889. B 
