Bergs began to appear in numbers in March. Many were scat- 

 tered through the pack ice but individual positions were seldom 

 reported. At that time the limiting boundaries of the pack, and 

 the positions of the bergs outside the pack limits, were of most 

 importance. Until the middle of March most of the bergs working 

 free of the pack did so north of latitude 50° N. These bergs were 

 carried in the pack to its eastern edge where the pack wasted 

 rapidly in the warmer water, but the heavier bergs were trans- 

 ported farther to the east. From the 9th to the 11th of March 

 about 20 bergs were reported east of the pack in the vicinity of 

 longitude 48° W., between the 50th and 53rd parallels. On the 

 24th, bergs and growlers were reported south to latitude 46° 30' N., 

 longitude 47° 00' W. On the 27th, bergs were sighted northeast of 

 Flemish Cap in the vicinity of latitude 49° N., longitude 43° W. 



Beginning the last of March, and following a gale that swept 

 through the region, pack ice started to move south along the east 

 coast of Newfoundland. On 1 April heavy slob ice was sighted off 

 St. John's harbor and later in the day was reported 15 miles 

 farther south. By the 3rd it had reached a latitude slightly north 

 of Cape Race, its farthest extension to the south during the season. 

 Offshore winds kept a shore lead open to St. John's. Continued 

 easterly winds at this time would have blocked the harbor with ice. 

 Some pack persisted south of St. John's until after the 11th, but 

 by the 17th the southern limit had receded north to Cape St. Francis 

 removing the threat to St. John's for the remainder of the season. 



During early April the field ice in the offshore branch of the 

 Labrador Current so receded from its maximum extension of 

 March that little pack was left south of a line from Cape Race to 

 latitude 50° N., longitude 49° W. About the 17th, however, the 

 main pack north of latitude 49° N., and west of longitude 50° W., 

 began to break up rapidly and large sections up to 40 miles long 

 by 20 miles wide separated from the main field and quickly strung 

 out to the south and east. One such field reached the position of 

 latitude 47°20' N., longitude 47° 15' W., on the 21st. This breaking 

 up and scattering process continued until well along in May. It 

 should be noted that when a major break-up occurs the ice moves 

 very rapidly and its limits are the least predictable of all times. 

 Broken ice, because it scatters, takes up far more room than did 

 the compact sheet before breaking. It is true that there is often 

 much open water in the ice but little of this open water is accessible 

 to navigation, and the probability of finding a series of connected 

 leads in the direction of a desired course is small indeed. 



The outstanding feature of the berg situation in April is that of 

 the many bergs sighted none were reported south of latitude 47° N. 

 Moreover a number drifted east at latitudes north of Flemish Cap. 

 In early April of normal years bergs are well on their way to the 



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