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

meet Derek. They were out but I found Ham (also the Government Magistrate)
in his office waiting for the inquest to begin. Derek was not there. I met David
at 6.15 pm in the Club and we went along to the Matthews for our bath. Fuchs
was in occupation, so we first had ‘cockers’ and then David went up. Mrs
Mathews showed me her ducks and a pair of upland geese in the garden; they
also had a pair of dachshunds called ‘Sausage’ and ‘Bacon’, which were in
quarantine. Formerly she had some penguins too but had sent them to the
Bronx Zoo, New York. I had my bath and as I came down several new arrivals
appeared. We had a vast buffet supper. Mrs M. was French and had a real flair
for cooking. What I remember most is the delicious gooseberries and cream.
More ‘cockers’ and at 10.30 pm we all left. David and I went into the Club for a
few G & T's and then back to the ship, fairly early for us.
Next day Brian, Pat and Doc Slessor left us for the ‘Snipe’, on which they
were to travel as far as Signy Island as guests. I de-mothed my case before
taking it along to the PWD store where it was to rest for two years. It was a
very wet and windy day, with sudden squalls, which caught one off balance. It
looked rather menacing outside the harbour and the ‘Gold Ranger’ had reanchored
just inside the Narrows instead of leaving harbour as had been her
intention. We up-anchored at 10.30 am - a very neat piece of maneuvering by
the Captain as we were in a very awkward position. As it was we re-anchored
just inside the Narrows and the ‘Gold Ranger’ left for Bermuda.
Our first iceberg
At 1.30 pm we weighed anchor again and left Stanley. In the open water
outside we were tossed about violently and the swell was terrific. So when we
began to ship water green over the bows the Captain became rather anxious
about the deck cargo. He attempted to turn around almost losing way in the
mountainous seas and rolling through 90 degrees, a maneuvre accompanied by
noises of much smashing of crockery. But fortunately being lucky at the first
attempt, we were able to put into Sparrow Cove and anchored there. There
were several penguins huddled near the ship and the wrecked and stranded
hulk of Brunel's ‘Great Britain’ was only 200 yards away from us, where it had
been beached since 1937. This was the world's first ocean liner built of iron, and
launched in Bristol in l843, 322 ft long with a tonnage of 3,270. It was covered
with a dense population of mussels, some of which we collected later for
supper. There was a thick mist, which reduced visibility and cut off the top of
Mount Low. While we were there people fished and read: I made up for lost
sleep.
I was on Bosun's party next morning. The wind was quite strong but the
mist had cleared and we got a good view of Mount Low. We saw the colony of
gentoo and jackass penguins to the east of Sparrow Cove - and there seemed to
be a number of trespassing sheep in their midst. Towards lunchtime we saw the
‘Gold Ranger’ returning having met heavy seas. Earlier the ‘Snipe’ had steamed
out to sea bound for Deception Island, where we were later to meet her. I spent
the afternoon reading, talking and fishing. Tankey's hook was broken by a large
fish - or was it the kelp? Later in the day he caught a hagfish, a foot in length,
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