east into the Current under southwesterly winds to 50° 30' W. and 

 south to 49° N. The disintegration matched the supply in this area 

 of the southeast sea ice limits for the remainder of May. The only 

 ice remaining in the Gulf of St. Lawrence area at the start of May 

 was a 30^0 mile band of ic« around east and west Cape Breton Island 

 and the usual ice in the Northeast Arm and Belle Isle Strait. The ice 

 around Cape Breton completely disintegrated by 15 May at which 

 date the Canadian Department of Transport concluded aerial ice 

 reconnaissance and ice forecasts for the Gulf. 



JUNE 



The major shipping lanes were ice free at the start of June. Three 

 small bergs in the Labrador Current near 45° N., 48° W. were a minor 

 threat at this time. There were nine various-sized bergs about 200 

 miles farther upstream between 47° N.^8° N. A couple in this 

 group had been mostly aground on the northern Grand Banks since 

 mid- April, and the rest were the leaders of the many bergs kept close 

 ashore from Cape Bonavista northward until about 20 May. Only 

 one or two of these bergs were given a chance to reach the Tail of the 

 Banks. The others were expected to deteriorate prior to the end of 

 the month. While the above two small groups of bergs were of im- 

 mediate concern as possible minor threats to Tracks C and B, there 

 was considerable interest in the many bergs which had drifted into 

 the Labrador Current during the last 2 weeks of May from the Bona- 

 vista Bay and Notre Dame Bay region. A flight on 1 June revealed 

 about 100 bergs in or near the Labrador Current along the northern 

 Grand Banks between 49°30' W. and Cape Freels. There was a group 

 of about 25 bergs near 48°50' N., 50° W., a group of 20 bergs near 

 49° N., 52° W., and about 40 bergs near Funk Island. See figure 24, 

 ice conditions 1 June 1964. These bergs were cause for future concern 

 because it was estimated that even the northwesternmost group of 40 

 bergs near Cape Freels could reach the Tail of the Banks within 5 

 weeks or by early July under conditions favorable for survival and 

 drift to the east and then south. The concern of a possible major 

 threat to the major shipping lanes by July Avas accentuated by three 

 factors in addition to the available supply: (1) The sea surface tem- 

 peratures for 15-31 May (see fig. 8) were 2°-4° F. below normal; 

 (2) Track B was scheduled to shift 100 miles northward to Track 

 C on 1 July; and (3) Berg sizes were larger than average for this 

 time of year on the northern Grand Banks due to longer than normal 

 containment in pack ice. 



The southernmost three bergs posing a minor threat to shipping at 

 the Tail of the Banks all deteriorated by 12 June without achieving 

 drift south of 43° N. In the meantime the next group, consisting of 

 nine bergs, had failed to achieve any significant progi'ess toward the 



20 



