30 



LOnSBUKG STEAMERS. 



The port of Louisburg, Cape Breton Island, is frozen in during th( 

 winter months, but with early spring it becomes broken out and 

 many steamers are routed to it as a destination. Durmg the recent 

 patrol cruise a number of steamers bound to Louisburg have called 

 for ice information. Wishing to render all possible assistance, our 

 regular ice broadcast carried the follo™g notice: ''Louisburg 

 steamers apply to patrol special information." 



Four ships,* the Hickman, Cymric Queen, Capitaine Faure, and 

 h'iano, were all advised as follows: "Advise you to keep south of 

 42d parallel until after crossing 52° W., then it is safe to haul up for 

 southern end Cape Breton, then follow up coast to Louisburg. 

 Southern limit ice field from Cape Breton to 44° 30' N.. 53° W., and 

 over St. Pierre Bank. Heavy ice coming out of Gulf." This informa- 

 tion was complete in detail and gave them full instructions, without 

 which they might have been endangered by entering the ice field 

 above described. This year the only ship known to have received 

 damage from ice was caught in this same field through inabihty to 

 catch'^the ice patrol's message and suffered damages to her propeller. 

 This occurred the first part of April. 



StTMMARY. 



Yo^ was experienced on each day of this cruise except the last 

 three! The wind reached gale force but once. Pilot charts for this 

 month show an observed average of some 40 per cent of fogs and 

 13 per cent of gales. 



The period of this cruise was marked by a continuous movement 

 of Arctic wat«r along the eastern slope of the Grand Banks to south- 

 ward and westward around the Tail of the Bank, then NW. bathing 

 the SW slope No steamer lanes were threatened during this period. 

 The southernmost berg was in lat. 42° 40', long. 50° 44', this berg 

 being later carried by the cold current to the slope of the Bank and 

 grounded. IVenty oceanographic stations were occupied, these 

 being of four lines, radiating from central station on the Grand 

 Banks, lat. 43° 50', long. 50° 25'. The eastern radial Ime, the longer 

 one, extended to lat. 44° 43', long. 43° 09', and observations showed 

 that the cold water experienced on the first cruise was not to be found. 

 The absence of bergs was therefore explained. The remainmg three 

 lines of stations occupied extended to S., SW., and WSW. from the 

 central station well into deep water. These showed the presence of a 

 large volume of Arctic water W. and NW. of the Tail of the Bank 

 and further demonstrated the association of bergs with Arctic water. 



