Identifier: yachtvoyagelette02duff (find matches)
Title: A yacht voyage. Letters from high latitudes; being some account of a voyage, in 1856, in the schooner yacht "Foam," to Iceland, Jan Mayen, and Spitzbergen
Year: 1883 (1880s)
Authors: Dufferin and Ava, Frederick Temple Blackwood, Marquis of, 1826-1902
Subjects:
Publisher: New York, J. W. Lovell co
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

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result, sailed west away towards Greenland. Duringthe next four-and-twenty hours we ran along the edge ofthe ice, in nearly a due westerly direction, without observ-ing the slightest indication of anything approaching to anopening towards the North. It was weary work, scanningthat seemingly interminable barrier, and listening to themelancholy roar of waters on its icy shore. At last, after having come about 140 miles since leav-ing Bear Island,—the long, white, wave-lashed line sud-denly ran down into a low point, and then trended backwith a decided inclination to the North. Here, at allevents, was an improvement; instead of our continuing tosteer W. by S., or at most W .by N., the schooner would oftenlay as high up as N.W., and even N.W. by N. Evidentlythe action of the Gulf Stream was beginning to tell, andour spirits rose in proportion. In a few more hours, hew-ever, this cheering prospect was interrupted by a fresh lineof ice being reported, not only ahead, but as far as the eye
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XI.) LAND, HOI 191 could reach on the port bow ; so again the schooners headwas put to the westward, and the old story recommenced.And now the flank of the second barrier was turned, andwe were able to edge up a few hours to the northward ;but only to be again confronted by another line, moreinterminable, apparently, than the last. But why should Iweary you with the detail of our various manoeuvres duringthe ensuing days ? They were too tedious and dishearten-ing at the time, for me to look back upon them with anypleasure. Suffice it to say, that by dint of sailing northwhenever the ice would permit us, and sailing west whenwe could not sail north, we found ourselves on the 2d ofAugust, in the latitude of the southern extremity of Spitz-bergen, though divided from the land by about fifty milesof ice. All this while the weather had been very good,foggy and cold enough, but with a fine stiff breeze thatrattled us along at a good rate whenever we did get achance of making any Northing. B

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