CRUISE SUMMARIES 



First Ice Patrol Cruise "Acushnet," 24 March to 19 April 1950 



On 24 March at 1330 G. e. t. the Acushnet departed Argentia to 

 search for the berg reported in 45°58' N., 45°15' W., 23 March. This 

 position was reached at 0200 G. c. t. 27 March at which time the 

 Acushnet inaugurated the continuous surface patrol for the season of 

 1950. That day the ship hove to and rode out a gale which subsided 

 sufficiently by the morning of the 28th to allow the vessel to search 

 for icebergs and drift ice. Drift ice was sighted at 1230 G. c. t. in 

 the vicinity of 46°00' N., 47°00' W. This ice consisted of widely 

 scattered floes. At 0600 G. c. t. 30 March the French vessel Lieutenant 

 Rene Guillon reported that she was fast in pack ice in 45°50' N., 

 46° 10' W. However, she reported that she was in no danger and on 

 31 March she was able to make progress through the ice. 



Visibility had improved by 1 April and a large berg was sighted in 

 45°00' N., 48°30' W., in close pack ice. Since the pack ice had a 

 noticeable drift to the south, a safety message was broadcast to 

 shipping that ice could be expected north of 44° N. The steamship 

 Loradore entered the pack ice in 46°51' N., 46°38' W., on 2 April and 

 reported a floating wreck in that position. Search planes were sent 

 out but poor visibility hampered their efforts as well as those of the 

 Acushnet. It was finally concluded that only discolored ice had been 

 sighted so the search was abandoned. Aircraft attempted to search 

 the area on the 3d but the results were negative because of fog. 



Between the 3d and the 10th there was fog in the area except for a 

 brief period on 6 April when pack ice was observed to have moved 

 westward approximately 12 miles. At 0124 G. c. t. 11 April the 

 Acushnet was ordered to proceed to the assistance of the steamship 

 American Producer in 43°55' N., 41°22' W., who had reported a 

 fire in No. 3 hold. Word was received at 0910 G. c. t. that the 

 steamship American Producer had the fire under control and needed 

 no further help. The Acushnet then returned to its primary duty 

 of ice patrol vessel. A search of the area north of 43°50' N., between 

 48° W., and 49° W., was made on the 12th. A badly eroded berg 

 with three hummocks was sighted in 44°27' N., 48°52' W. The 

 following day, 13 April, bergs were sighted in 44°o6' N., 48°45' W.; 

 45°02' N., 48°33' W.; 45°46' N., 47°56' W., and growlers in 45°04' 

 N., 48°39' W.; 45°57' N., 47°45' W.; 45°59' N., 46°53' W. On the 

 14th, two bergs were sighted in 44°14' N., 48°41' W., and 43°57' N., 

 48°41' W. Search operations on 15 April were held up by a dense 

 fog and early on the 16th one berg which had been sighted on the 

 14th was resighted in 44°00' N., 48°50' W. A heavy south-southwest 

 swell was running at the time and the berg was eroding rapidly. 

 Late that day a course was laid westward to the Grand Banks to 

 scout for any bergs which might have passed south in the fog unde- 



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