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

Another sealing voyage.
Shortly afterwards I was out again in heavy seas, 20 ft waves, on board Albatros
again - as we made our way to Isfjord (now known as Ice Fjord) on the west coast,
where we were to anchor for the night. I was off on another sealing trip and
enjoying it very much. That trip we were out more than a week and saw many more
elephant seals, because it was during the breeding season. So far we had covered the
whole coast, north from Grytiviken to the stretch of coast just south of Undine
Harbour in the west. It was a good job that I was a good sailor, young and very fit.
That day, 15 November, for instance, had been typical. I was up at 3.30 am and
ashore with the sealers in the pram dinghy which held eleven of us. They killed all
the bulls they could find and flensed them while I tried to count all the cows, pups
and bulls and contrived somehow to examine every one they killed. I collected the
needed biological material from it, including measurements, a tooth for age
estimation, sawn off with a hacksaw, and reproductive material. All the landings
were in heavy surf, which drenched us and there were intermittent blizzards. The
Gunner, Arne Bogen, again took a great delight in firing his heavy Krag-Jorgensen
rifle just next to my ear, so as to startle me - and deafen me. He had a perverted sense
of humour.
We covered several beaches in this way and then at 8 o’clock returned for frokost
- breakfast - which was very welcome, but had to be taken in a hurry because after
twenty minutes, to a cry of arriba todos !, we would all pile into the pram again. Then
came a series of long beaches. We all wore rubberised trousers that came up to the
armpits and a rubberised jacket. In order to keep dry we wore rubber thigh boots,
with the trousers worn over them, tied below the knee with string, to prevent the
water getting in, for often we were up to our chests in the icy cold water. I had to
carry my knives etc. and heavy collecting equipment and fluids for preservation of
specimens. Landing through the heavy surf was therefore difficult and wetting and
we might walk ten miles before lunch, in our clumsy thigh boots, killing and
examining seals on the way. Lunch was taken on the ship between beaches, and then
the same activities continued until café at about 4 o’clock – if we were lucky. Another
two hours passed in the same way, and we that day we returned at 8.30 pm to have
rum and lemon before supper, while the ship headed for a convenient anchorage. I
had to sleep on a hard bench in the chart room, but usually was so tired that I could
have slept anywhere.
I still got on very well with the sealers, who I liked and respected - nearly all
Polacks with a Dane, some Norwegians, a Swede and a Finn. One day I lost my pipe,
so they presented me with one (together with two pipe-cleaners) with many words
and deprecating shrugs. It was not a sweet pipe, being cheaply made from relatively
soft wood - not briar - but it was a kind gesture and I smoked it occasionally to show
my appreciation. Often now they would ask me down to the fo'castle for a drink -
which meant polishing off a whole bottle of aquavit at a sitting. Still it was all very
interesting. Don Samuel another of the four sealing boats, captained by Hammarstadt,
formerly mate of the Albatros, had been wrecked a few days earlier. But as there was
no radio communication at that time (no radio transmitters were fitted), no one knew
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