Part 44 (1/2)

On December 12 and 13, in calmer water, some thirty miles off the east coast of Tasmania, trawlings were made successfully in one thousand three hundred fathoms and seventy-five fathoms respectively. From the deeper trawling were obtained a large octopus and several interesting fish.

Just before noon on December 14 we arrived in Hobart and immediately began preparations for the voyage to the Antarctic.

On December 24, 1912, preparations for sailing were complete. For ten days every one connected with the 'Aurora' had been working at high pressure, and Christmas Day, our last day ash.o.r.e, was to be celebrated as a well-earned holiday.

There was on board a good supply of coal, five hundred and twenty-one tons, and a very heavy mail of letters and packages for the members of the Expedition who had been isolated in the far South for more than twelve months. We were to take thirty-five sheep on board as well as twenty-one dogs, presented by Captain Amundsen upon his return from his South Polar expedition. Captain James Davis, of Hobart, of long whaling experience, was to accompany us to give an expert opinion upon such whales as we might meet. Mr. Van Waterschoot van der Gracht, who had had previous experience in the Antarctic, joined as marine artist, and Mr.

S. N. Jeffryes as wireless operator. With C. C. Eitel, Secretary of the Expedition, the whole party on board numbered twenty-eight.

A very pleasant Christmas was spent ash.o.r.e. The s.h.i.+p's company of twenty-three men met for dinner, and we did not forget to wish a ”Merry Christmas” to our leader and his twenty-six comrades who were holding their celebration amid the icy solitudes of Antarctica. I was glad, on this festive occasion, to be able to congratulate officers and men on their willing and loyal service during the previous twelve months; every one had done his best to advance the objects of the Expedition.

The attractions of Hobart, at this season, are so numerous, and Tasmanian hospitality so boundless, that it gives me great pleasure to place on record that every man was at his post on the 'Aurora' at 10 A.M. on Boxing Day.

As we drew away from the wharf amid the cheers of those who had come to wish us G.o.d-speed, the weather was perfect and the scene on the Derwent bright and cheering. Captain James Davis acted as pilot.

At 11.30 A.M. we had embarked the twenty-one dogs, which were brought off from the Quarantine Station, and were steaming down Storm Bay.

Outside there was a heavy swell, and the wind was freshening from the west. The course was laid south 50 degrees west, true.

For the next two days there was a westerly gale with a very high sea, and the dogs and sheep had a bad time, as a good deal of water came aboard. Two of the sheep had to be killed. By the afternoon of the 29th it had moderated, and a sounding was secured.

This storm was followed by another from the west-northwest. The 'Aurora'

weathered it splendidly, although one sea came over everything and flooded the cabins, while part of the rail of the forecastle head was carried away on the morning of the 31st. At this time we were in the vicinity of the reputed position of the Royal Company Islands.

A sounding was taken with great difficulty, finding two thousand and twenty fathoms and a mud bottom.

January 4, 1918, was a fine day, with a fresh westerly breeze and a high sea. Occasionally there were snow squalls. At night the wireless operator was able to hear H.M.S. 'Drake' at Hobart, and also the station at Macquarie Island; the s.h.i.+p having been fitted to receive wireless signals before sailing.

Next day the sun was bright and there was only a moderate westerly swell. Large bunches of kelp were frequently seen drifting on the surface. ”Blue Billys”** flew in great numbers about the s.h.i.+p. Two soundings were obtained in one thousand nine hundred fathoms.

** Prion Banksii.

On the 8th a heavy swell came from the south-east. During the morning a sounding realized two thousand two hundred and seventy fathoms and the sample of mud contained a small, black manganese nodule. At 8 P.M. a floating cask was sighted and taken aboard after much difficulty. It turned out to be a s.h.i.+p's oil cask, empty, giving no clue from whence it came.

The first ice was observed about 6 P.M. on the 10th. The water was still deep--more than two thousand fathoms.

By noon on January 11 loose pack came into view, with a strong blink of heavier pack to the south. The course was changed to south-west. At 7 P.M. the s.h.i.+p was steaming west in clear water, a few bergs being in sight and a marked ice-blink to the south. Several whales appeared which Captain James Davis reported were ”blue whales” (finners or rorquals).

After we had been steering westward until almost midnight, the course was altered to south-west in the hope of encountering the shelf-ice barrier (met in 1912) well to the east of the Main Base station. On the 12th we sailed over the position of the ice-tongue in 1912 without seeing a trace of it, coming up with heavy broken floe at 10 A.M.

For four hours the 'Aurora' pushed through ma.s.sive floes and ”bergy bits,” issuing into open water with the blink of ice-covered land to the south. At nine o'clock Adelie Land was plainly visible, and a course was set for the Main Base. In squally weather we reached the Mackellar Islets at midnight, and by 2 A.M. on the 13th dropped anchor in Commonwealth Bay under the ice-cliffs in twenty fathoms.

At 6 A.M. Fletcher, the chief officer, reported that a heavy gust of wind had struck the s.h.i.+p and caused the chain to carry away the las.h.i.+ng of the heavy relieving-tackle. The chain then ran over the windla.s.s, and, before anything could be done, the pointer to which the end of the chain was attached had been torn from the bolts, and our best ground-tackle was lost overboard. It was an exasperating accident.

At seven o'clock the port anchor was dropped in ten fathoms, about eight hundred yards west of the first anchorage, with ninety fathoms of chain.

The wind s.h.i.+fted suddenly to the north, and the 'Aurora' swung insh.o.r.e until her stern was within one hundred yards of the cliffs; but the depth at this distance proved to be seventeen fathoms. After a few northerly puffs, the wind s.h.i.+fted to the south-east and then died away.

At 2.30 P.M. the launch was hoisted over and the mail was taken ash.o.r.e, with sundry specimens of Australian fruit as ”refreshment” for the sh.o.r.e-party. The boat harbour was reached before any one ash.o.r.e had seen the 'Aurora'. At the landing-place we were greeted most warmly by nine wild-looking men; some with beards bleached by the weather. They all looked healthy and in very fair condition, after the severe winter, as they danced about in joyous excitement.

We learned that five sledging parties had left the Hut: Bage, Webb and Hurley had returned from the south, Stillwell, Close and Laseron from the east, and the others were still out. In Dr. Mawson's instructions, all parties were to be back at the Hut by January 15, 1913.

The launch made some trips to and from the s.h.i.+p with specimens during the afternoon. I returned on board and had a look at the cable. The weather was fine, but changes were apt to occur without much warning.