32 WORST JOURNEY IN THE WORLD 
John Xavier Merriman, and the remark of a seaman who 
came out to dinner concerning one John, the waiter, that 
‘““he moved about as quick as a piece of sticking-plaster! ” 
Leaving Simon’s ‘Town at daybreak we did magnetic 
work all day, sailing out from False Bay with a biggish 
swell in the evening. We ran southerly in good weather 
until Sunday morning, when the swell was logged at 8 and 
the glass was falling fast. By the middle watch it was blow- 
ing a full gale and for somethirty hours we ran under reefed 
foresail, lower topsails and occasionally reefed upper top- 
sails, and many of us were sick. 
Then after two days of comparative calm we had a most 
extraordinary gale from the east, a thing almost unheard of 
in these latitudes (38° S. to 39° S.). All that we could do 
was to put the engines at dead slow and sail northerly as 
close to the wind as possible. Friday night, September 9, 
it blew force ro in the night, and the morning watch was 
very lively with the lee rail under water. 
Directly after breakfast on Saturday, September 10, we 
wore ship, and directly afterwards the gale broke and it was 
raining, with little wind, during the day. 
The morning watch had a merry time on Tuesday, Sep- 
tember 13, when a fresh gale struck them while they were 
squaring yards. So unexpected was it that the main yards 
were squared and the fore were still round, but it did not 
last long and was followed by two splendid days—fine 
weather with sun, a good fair wind and the swell astern. 
The big swell which so often prevails in these latitudes 
is a most inspiring sight, and must be seen from a com- 
paratively small ship like the Terra Nova for its magnitude 
to be truly appreciated. As the ship rose on the crest of one 
great hill of water the next big ridge was nearlya mileaway, 
with a sloping valley between. At times these seas are 
rounded in giant slopes as smooth as glass ; at others they 
curl over, leaving a milk-white foam, and their slopes are 
marbled with a beautiful spumy tracery. Very wonderful 
are these mottled waves: with a following sea, at one 
moment it seems impossible that the great mountain which 
is overtaking the ship will not overwhelm her, at another 
