OUR FIRST LANDINGS 
ticular reason for being awake, so 
at 5.30 A.M. I turned in. 
An hour later they sent down 
to wake me up. We were just 
making Gusina Point. I did not 
much like these tactics. If any 
sailor should read this, very likely 
he will laugh at my ideas, for I 
make no pretence to be a sailor. 
But I have a feeling that when 
you get a river debouching like 
this, and protected by a point which 
checks the tide, a bank under 
water is to be dreaded. At any 
rate there was very little water, it 
was nearly high tide, and I was 
afraid of grounding. 
So we stood out again, and a bit 
to the northward, and then came 
straight for the river which we 
could see, bearing SE. by S. We 
felt slowly along, the water getting 
less and less, and at last came to 
an anchor in 44 fathoms, about a 
mile away from the river-mouth. 
It was now half-past ten in the 
morning, The sea was all muddy 
from the river water, and we sent 
N 
ines 
oe 
3 
MAS hes, 
oI 
