12 



At 1.30 p. m. the vessel was stopped and Titanic memorial services 

 were held in the gale. No berg was at hand this year, but the rough 

 sea and howling wind made a fitting background for the ceremonies 

 observed on this, the sixteenth anniversary of the great marine 

 tragedy that created the ice patrol. An account of these exercises 

 was radioed to the press as in previous j^ears. 



On the 13th the Modoc received inquiry from the press relative to 

 news concerning the German trans-Atlantic fliers. A double lookout 

 was kept from aloft for sight of them. When it was learned that 

 they had landed in the Strait of Belle Isle it was realized that they 

 were too far away and beset by too much ice to be assisted by the 

 patrol vessel. 



On the 14th also the C tracks were ordered discontinued by the 

 North Atlantic Track Conference. The B tracks were made effective, 

 much to the relief of the patrol vessel. The unusual southeasterly 

 drift of ice this year had menaced the more northerly C tracks for 

 some days. Every broadcast for some time prior to and after the 

 14th contained warnings to vessels that the C tracks were crossed 

 by bergs and that extreme caution should be used between the forty- 

 second and forty-seventh meridians during darkness and other times 

 of bad visibility. 



While the Modoc drifted on the night of the 14th the wind backed 

 to the north and then gradually moderated as the "low" that had 

 passed near by moved further out over the ocean. The whole of the 

 15th was spent scouting in the mixed water just east of the Banks 

 trying to locate again the southernmost bergs in the central branch 

 of the Labrador Stream. These waters w^ere noted to be of a brownish 

 color like weak cypress water. The color was especially noticeable 

 because of its contrast with the warm blue waters of the Gulf Stream 

 drift that had surrounded the ship for the past three days. 



At 5.30 p. m. two large bergs were reached in 45° 03' N., 48° 22' W. 

 These were circled and photographed in the light of the late after- 

 noon sun. A station taken just clear of the bergs showed that the 

 water at all levels was above the freezing point. Gulf Stream influ- 

 ence, even here, was therefore apparent. 



On the morning of the 16th it was foggy at times, due to the winds 

 having shifted to the southeast. The two bergs were still in sight 

 to the northeast during clear intervals, distant about 6 miles. A 

 station was taken at 9 a. m. that showed the Modoc to have been 

 blown during the night into purer arctic water. The temperatures 

 at the surface and down to 125 meters were between —0.6° and 

 — 0.2° C. The day was gloomy and misty, altogether unsuitable 

 for scouting, so 10 miles were run to the westward and there another 

 station was taken in even colder water, probably near the axis of the 



