We had a device by which the
water could go direct from the pump into the sea through a hole in the
gunwale, but this hole had to be blocked at an early stage of the
voyage, since we found that it admitted water when the boat rolled.
While a new watch was shivering in the wind and spray, the men who had
been relieved groped hurriedly among the soaked sleeping-bags and tried
to steal a little of the warmth created by the last occupants; but it
was not always possible for us to find even this comfort when we went
off watch. The boulders that we had taken aboard for ballast had to be
shifted continually in order to trim the boat and give access to the
pump, which became choked with hairs from the moulting sleeping-bags
and finneskoe. The four reindeer-skin sleeping-bags shed their hair
freely owing to the continuous wetting, and soon became quite bald in
appearance. The moving of the boulders was weary and painful work. We
came to know every one of the stones by sight and touch, and I have
vivid memories of their angular peculiarities even to-day. They might
have been of considerable interest as geological specimens to a
scientific man under happier conditions. As ballast they were useful.
As weights to be moved about in cramped quarters they were simply
appalling. They spared no portion of our poor bodies.
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