Bonavista and unseasonably warm sea surface temperatures (see 

 figs. 13-18) destroyed any pack ice or growlers which achieved a 

 southeast drift below latitude 49° N. 



Southerly winds the latter part of April opened up large shore 

 leads along northeast Newfoundland and coastwise shipping was 

 able to navigate for the remainder of the year. Pack ice was 

 driven out of the Strait of Belle Isle and by the end of the month 

 the strait was free though the eastern approaches remained 

 blocked. 



The main body of the Gulf of St. Lawrence was open throughout 

 the month and the steamer track to Montreal was in use. Only 

 Northumberland Strait and the coast of Prince Edward Island 

 remained hampered by ice, pressured as a result of earlier north- 

 east winds. As previously mentioned, small bergs were sighted 

 aground near Cornerbrook, Newfoundland, and Cape Whittle, 

 Quebec, in the Gulf, and a small berg or growler drifted past 

 Heath Point, Anticosti Island into the main steamer track. The 

 latter is a most unusual occurrence. 



Again, from 2-7 April, the cutter on Ocean Station Bravo sighted 

 and tracked to its melting, a medium sized berg which had a 

 steady average drift of about 10 miles per day to the west. Another 

 berg, the fourth for the year, was sighted at this station (56°30 / N. 

 51°00'W) on 23 April, but bad weather prohibited tracking it. 



The southernmost extension of field ice for the entire season 

 occurred on 29 April when a north-south belt of broken block ice 

 was sighted off Baccalieu Island, Newfoundland, (see fig. 6). The 

 main pack, however, had already begun to deteriorate and at the 

 end of the month was in rapid disintegration. 



Ice conditions for April are shown by figures. 4-6. 



May 



The early part of May marked a pronounced recession of the 

 field ice limits from the Newfoundland area, so that by 20 May 

 only small patches of brash and block ice remained south of the 

 52d parallel. Canadian Seasonal Track "G" was now open and in 

 use. Many bergs and growlers were reported in the Strait of 

 Belle Isle and its eastern approaches. 



Southerly and southwesterly winds prevailed during April and 

 May which had the effect of driving many small bergs and growlers 

 to the eastward of the Newfoundland coast (see fig. 8) but due 

 to their already eroded state and the advanced seasonal warming 

 of the surface water, none achieved any significant drift. This 

 same effect of easterly movement apparently had taken place also 

 off the Labrador Coast. At the end of May ships now using Track 



10 



