Part I: Seals teeth and whales ears - Scott Polar Research Institute ...

chorus girl from Leicester. David and I talked at length, went to bed and got up
again when Number One came on board. Eventually we did get off to sleep at
4.30 am. with, for me, the unpleasant prospect of galley duty at 6.30 am.
I was on galley duty until 11 o’clock. Then David and I put on suits and
went up to the English Club for a few G&Ts and lunch with Peter Swann, Drs
Fuchs and Slessor and Andre Liotard. He was a very charming French polar
explorer planning an expedition, who was joining us for the season, and hoping
to pick up some ideas from FIDS. We then looked unsuccessfully for the
Natural History Museum and did some shopping before returning to the ship,
when I resumed my existence as a galley slave. We had taken on a new seaman,
since the Estonian was in clink and unlikely to be free for some time. He seemed
a very nice chap - a nephew of Bosun Macleod, called MacIver. The Estonian
would be a great loss, since he was the only real seaman aboard and had all the
necessary skills. I would always remember watching him climb the forestay to
the main mast, hand-over-hand in rough weather.
Heading South again
A fresh breeze blew as we left the port at 6 o’clock accompanied by
Dominican and Patagonian black-headed gulls; it was to be more than two years
before I was again in a city environment. I looked forward to the next part of
the adventure, as the Antarctic slowly drew nearer.
Having a reputation as an artist, I was detailed to paint the name and
registration of the ship on the lifebelts, but the brushes provided were quite
unsuitable and I decided that the lifeboats could wait until I had better tools! At
12 noon (31°51'S; 56°27'W) one seal was seen off the starboard bow and at 6
o’clock several seals and penguins - the penguins porpoising (probably
rockhoppers?). One seal was only ten yards from the ship, a southern sea lion I
thought, but it was difficult to be sure. During the afternoon numbers of blackcapped
and dusky petrels, sooty shearwaters (or great-winged petrels?) and
some Schlegel's petrels, accompanied us. We were also followed by what I took
to be a sooty albatross.
Next day I was woken at 7.45 am by David, who was on the dog-watch, to
see two blue whales on the starboard quarter, my first sighting of this species.
Although they were not close they were huge and very impressive, moving
majestically and seemingly in ‘slow motion’. At 11 o’clock thick brown patches
of seaweed - kelp - began to appear and we passed them throughout the day. I
read most of the day and David did his mending. At midday a Wilson's petrel
appeared and was in evidence for a while. There was also what we took to be a
giant petrel; also black-capped petrels and an odd looking petrel with black
head and body (white-chinned?). At 6.15 pm a large albatross with wing span of
about 10 feet was seen from the bridge; it was probably a wandering albatross
in juvenile plumage.
We saw several more whales throughout that day. Another blue whale
surfaced at two cables distance. An hour later the fourth blue whale of the day
surfaced off the starboard bow and blew twice at 5 minute intervals. And at
7.40 pm, when we were at 42°02'S; 56°06'W, a very large blue whale was seen to
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