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

I printed a few photographs for Captain Hem, the gunner of Setter 9 and stuffed
his second penguin - in quite a life-like attitude. He came on board one night before
sailing to Norway, ahead of us, and I got up to talk with him, from midnight to 2
o’clock. My beard would be coming off soon! The ship was looking much cleaner.
On the way to Cape Town, the false deck, impregnated with whale oil and blood,
was ripped up and thrown overboard and the remaining decks and superstructure
were all scraped and washed with caustic soda to remove the oil and dirt. It was
quite dangerous to go on deck because the seamen were spraying caustic
everywhere.
Time speeded up. For my part I scrubbed out my lab and washed my implements
and so on. Now it looked a very different place. We were due to arrive in Cape Town
early on Saturday 28 March and leave early on the Sunday. We expected to arrive at
Liverpool about 19 April. However, we still had some difficulties. One night we had
a bad storm in the forties and the ship was rolling heavily. I got up twice to clear up
the debris and came down to the lab once. The bridge expected it to be rough again
the next night. It was much warmer now; we had rain and it was lovely to feel it on
my face - so refreshing.
The weather became baking hot for the first time since we left Cape Town over
four months previously, and it was agreeable to wear lighter clothes for a change and
to stand basking in the sun. The crewmen were still working to get the ship
reasonably clean. They washed off more oil and grease with caustic soda, then
washed with water, followed by more caustic, water and then several coats of paint.
So life on the ship continued for another eleven days as we moved northwards.
Another event was that I shaved off my beard! I had become so used to it that when I
first looked in a mirror after taking it off I couldn't understand where my chin had
gone. It certainly made a difference! The effect of the removal of Hugh's beard was
even worse because it had been bigger. We both looked about ten years younger too.
On the following day, Saturday at about 7.0 o’clock, we would arrive at Cape Town,
which would be such a novelty - after four months at sea. I had never been away
from land for so long at a stretch and I was looking forward to seeing some flowers
and trees, to smell the grass and have other civilized experiences - and just to getting
away from Balaena for a short time. I was going ashore in the morning to do some
shopping - just for essentials and to have a haircut. Then we planned to hire two cars
and to drive down the coast - maybe have a swim. The same party as last time
probably. We would have dinner up at Constantia Nek - outside Cape Town and
maybe a dance or two and would sail at dawn on Sunday morning. It all came out as
we planned and it was a very relaxing, if action-packed stay.
We tied up at 9am on 8 April and went ashore at 10 o’clock for some shopping. I
met the others at the Grand Hotel and we spent the remainder of the morning
drinking South African champagne. Pat and another girl joined us for lunch and
then another English girl called Caroline - who wasn't at the last party but was
substituting for Jill who was still in Rhodesia. Hugh and Chris were there. We had
lunch - our first decent meal for months - at the Marine Hotel Buttery and then drove
in a hired car, to Fourth Bay where we bathed in the icy sea water. It was a beach
with large breakers and fine sand. Then tea and a drive along the coastal road, which
is really rather hair-raising. Literally a sheer drop of several hundred feet on the
seaward side.
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