SAILING THE SEVEN SEAS 



649 



half fish, half bird, and fairly human in 

 their curiosity and comic actions, were an 

 interesting study (see illustrations, pages 

 657, 662, and 668). 



After we left the snug safety of King 

 Edward Cove and plunged into the stormy 

 seas of the Southern Ocean, the icebergs 

 became larger and more numerous and 

 the fog thicker and more persistent. 



Some of the icebergs were 400 feet high 

 and five miles long — flat, table-topped 

 bergs of regular outline. One loomed up 

 through the fog as a vast extent of dark 

 land, with the bright iceblink reflected 

 from the fog above it. 



LINDSAY ISLAND HAS BEEN SEEN BY FEW 

 NAVIGATORS 



We passed along the north coast of 

 Lindsay Island about three miles from 

 shore, obtaining a good view of this 

 lonely, desolate place, with its deep mantle 

 of snow and ice surrounded with wrecked 

 icebergs which had come to grief on its 

 shoals. The island is only four-and-a-half 

 miles long and is almost entirely covered 

 with glaciers. 



We had no difficulty in locating the 

 island. When our reckoning placed it 

 about 10 miles southeast of the vessel, we 

 were able to locate it in the proper direc- 

 tion, in the midst of a driving cloud and 

 fog bank which surrounded the land, by 

 noting the white streak of a glacier which 

 remained fixed in position and outline. 

 A delegation of six penguins came out to 

 greet us, and these were the only ones 

 seen in this vicinity. 



The only sign of human kind seen on 

 the entire trip of four months, except at 

 South Georgia, was the naked body of a 

 dead man floating in the open sea between 

 Heard and Kerguelen Islands, far from 

 land and remote from any regular steamer 

 routes. Stormy weather and thick ice 

 prevented our sighting Thompson and 

 Bouvet Islands and compelled us to omit 

 a contemplated stop at Kerguelen Island. 



HEAVY STORMS SOUTH OF THE) GREAT 

 AUSTRALIAN BIGHT 



The stormiest period of the trip awaited 

 us south of the Great Australian Bight. 



A storm at sea is an awe-inspiring ex- 

 perience and is always a time of anxiety 

 until the temper and fury of the wind 



have passed their climax. The wind 

 howls and shrieks through the rigging; 

 the ship moans and shudders from stem 

 to stern; the seas pile up and rush upon 

 the tiny craft like so many laughing 

 demons, threatening to overturn and en- 

 gulf her and shaking her in their rage; 

 often they climb right on board and sweep 

 her from bow to quarter-deck. 



Then, after a lull the storm seems to 

 redouble its fury ; the wind fairly 

 screams ; the ship rushes headlong, rises 

 on a huge wave and nearly overturns, as 

 she rushes down the far side of the crest 

 into the trough below. Huge seas curl 

 up and break behind the man at the wheel. 



But the vessel is staunch and rides on, 

 emerging from the heavy seas with water 

 pouring from every scupper, with huge 

 waves alternately slapping her on the bow 

 and pounding her on the stern, or climb- 

 ing on board in an effort to swamp her. 

 No sails can be set, and she scuds along 

 at full speed under bare poles. If the 

 storm is too severe, the vessel is stopped 

 and "hove to," and with head up into the 

 wind she rides the waves like a duck. 



Finally the anxiously watched barom- 

 eter begins to rise, the wind moderates 

 and shifts, the sky begins to clear, and 

 the seas, disappointed, baffled, and growl- 

 ing, subside. The vessel is headed up to 

 her course, the timid sails begin to show 

 themselves one at a time, and at last we 

 are again on our way, watching the ba- 

 rometer and sky for indications of the 

 next storm. 



FIFTY-TWO DAYS OF GALE WHILE CIRCUM- 

 NAVIGATING THE ANTARCTIC 



Lyttelton was reached on April 1, 1916, 

 after 118 days at sea. The total distance 

 from Lyttelton around to Lyttelton again 

 was 17,084 miles, giving an average of 

 145 miles per day. During this period 

 we had gales on 52 days, half of them 

 reaching hurricane force. 



We were passed by a continual proces- 

 sion of circular storms moving around 

 the Antarctic Continent from west to 

 east. Always with a decreasing atmos- 

 pheric pressure, we would have northerly 

 winds shifting to the northwest and blow- 

 ing hard. As the pressure began to in- 

 crease, the wind shifted to southwest, 

 blowing a gale if the rise was rapid. 



We had precipitation of some sort, 



