The pressure of wind on bows and the yards of the
foremast would cause the bows to fall away, and in these conditions the
ship could not be steered into the narrow lanes and leads through which
we had to thread our way. The falling away of the bows, moreover,
would tend to bring the stern against the ice, compelling us to stop
the engines in order to save the propeller. Then the ship would become
unmanageable and drift away, with the possibility of getting excessive
sternway on her and so damaging rudder or propeller, the Achilles' heel
of a ship in pack-ice.
While we were waiting for the weather to moderate and the ice to open,
I had the Lucas sounding-machine rigged over the rudder-trunk and found
the depth to be 2810 fathoms. The bottom sample was lost owing to the
line parting 60 fathoms from the end. During the afternoon three
adelie penguins approached the ship across the floe while Hussey was
discoursing sweet music on the banjo. The solemn-looking little birds
appeared to appreciate "It's a Long Way to Tipperary," but they fled in
horror when Hussey treated them to a little of the music that comes
from Scotland. The shouts of laughter from the ship added to their
dismay, and they made off as fast as their short legs would carry them.
The pack opened slightly at 6.15 p.
Pages:
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46