Worsley's Journal
November 1 Monday
69° 9' S 52° 0' W
Sir E., Wild, Hurley & I reconnoitre to the N.W. as soon as it clears and find absolute chaos in practically every direction. The “hedgerows” and hummocks are piled up in such an Inferno of blocks, pinnacles and huge lumps that it seems certain that the boats or their sledges or both could never survive 5 or 10 miles of such country. We therefore decide to stay where we are for present, consuming our base stores and retaining our sledging stores and equipment intact. Meantime we are on the heaviest and most solid looking floe for miles around. It looks quite 2 years old so that we are not much in fear of pressure breaking it up yet awhile and if it does it is so big that we should have plenty of places to retreat to. At the same time we should be setting to the West’d as Ely winds have prevailed for nearly 6 days, and we appear to gradually tho’ very slowly move west and north on average in every month. Shift camp on to the centre of our floe. A party of 6 with dog teams go back to the ship and get the masts which were a danger to anyone working on the wreck. Bring the other cutter, quantity of lumber, and all possible eatables that could be secured. A skua gull comes over the camp from the Westward which is a hopeful sign of open water or land. Every day we see 3 or 4 snow petrels.
Wild unearths my full dress belt and boat cloak and arrays himself proudly wearing a quaintly incongruous air as a Wrecker.
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