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

came in squalls, which tended to push us round, and we shipped quite a bit of water
as the waves increased. Also the dory was sitting quite high in the water and the
windage was making it difficult to steer; Ralph recalled that he had read that
Newfoundland cod fishermen in these conditions used to take out the plug, and
allow water into the boat before re-plugging it. The dory should then lie lower in the
water and be more manageable. So we did this and I carried on rowing with our feet
in several inches of water! It seemed to work. Giant petrels followed us circling
round and a beautiful snowy petrel appeared out of the spray, whisked around us,
and was off among the brash again. Some of the brash was quite big and we
inevitably hit some of it, which fortunately did no visible damage. It was all a bit
frightening and the adrenalin was flowing, for had we missed our landing, we would
have been blown irreversibly out into the vast Southern Ocean and perished.
However, we came safely back to Signy and at Balin Point Ralph took over and
gave me a spell. We were back at base by 5.20 pm having taken about 1 1 2 hrs to row
back. We thawed out, sent a report to Dr Fuchs with the Ob. and had dinner and
export Gin - in celebration of David Dalgleish's birthday - and then early to bed. It
had been one of the best days ever!
We made our next journey after the sea had frozen over. A good day came on 21
July, with a fine morning and the promise of it continuing, so up early and off manhauling
to Coronation Island, having packed the sledge, lunch and all that was
necessary for an enforced stay if the ice should break up. The temperature was -
16.5°C, rising during the day to -15°C. We put Ralph in the lead trace so that he could
set the pace as, being the smallest, his rate was slowest. It was a lovely day, but very
warm pulling the sledge, and we were soon reduced to wearing only shirts - and
trousers. It took us about two hours steady hauling to make our way across; patchy
going, with pressure-ridges - in some parts badly hummocked, in others fairly level.
After passing North Point we had excellent views of the Cragsman Peaks (which we
knew as the Cuillins) and of the Sandefjord Twins. We passed Cape Hansen and
moved West to Leopard Bay, as it looked level and we thought that the skerries
would have prevented the formation of bad pressure tangles. This proved to be so
and we had easier going for a stretch. On the foreland of Cairn Ridge I pointed out to
Derek a dyke of hard black rock (dolerite) and we went across to look at it. I took
photographs while he collected rock specimens. Looking back, Signy Island was in
bright sunlight and all the details of the topography were shown up clearly - but
there was no time for sketching, we must press on.
We hitched up again and went on around the corner to Shingle Bay. We had
intended to go up to the top of Cape Hansen where Derek could take a round of
angles and I could get some useful plane-table rays. But time was pressing, so instead
we decided to work from the Discovery Cairn. We lunched in Shingle Bay, examined
the store depot, and decided to take the tent with us back to base, as thaw and freeze
action had firmly fixed it in position. It took Ralph and me some time to extricate it
and the primus from the ice. Derek went on up the hillside to the cairn, while I fixed
the position of the depot cairn by resection on the plane-table. From the Discovery
cairn I got rays on all the necessary points, although it was very cold work. Derek
managed to get his round of angles.
By now it was growing overcast and about 3.30 pm, having finished planetabling,
we decided to return home without further delay. Derek had been trying to
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