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Chap. X.]
SAILING ALONG THE PACK EDGE.
305
1841
swell took complete command of them, carrying us away, during the whole night, upon a course directly opposite to that we wished to go.
March 16.At four the next morning we had a light wind from the north-eastward, which gradually freshened to a pleasant breeze, veering to the southward as it increased in strength; once more we had all studding sails set, running to the westward, but not within sight of the pack, although a strong blink to the southward clearly indicated that it was at no great distance in that direction: we passed many straggling pieces of ice, and several bergs, but they were by no means numerous; and at noon were in lat. 64° 14′ S., long. 154° 40′ E. Again, as on the previous evening, we had a calm from eight March 17.o'clock until four the next morning, the breeze following the same course as yesterday, beginning in the north-east, veering to the south-eastward about noon, and declining to a light south-westerly wind at midnight. We sailed through a great quantity of young ice as we closed the pack, and at length it became so thick, where there was much heavy ice amongst it, that we could not get within two or three miles of the pack edge, and owing to the heavy swell, and difficulty of steering amongst the ice in which the ships were involved, they received some very heavy blows, but fortunately without doing any other injury than removing some of the copper: the pack presented much the same appearance as that we had sailed along in our way from Cape North of Victoria Land to