M. the anchors were weighed. As soon as a strain was
put upon the lines, however, we found that the ice to which they
were attached came home upon us, instead of the ships being drawn
out to the southward; and we were therefore obliged to have
recourse to the kedge-anchors, which we could scarcely find room
to drop on account of the closeness of the ice. Having warped a
little way out from the shore, into five fathoms and a half, it
was found impossible to proceed any farther without a change of
wind, and the anchors were therefore dropped till such a change
should take place. In the course of the evening all the loose ice
drifted past us to the northward, loading that shore of the
harbour with innumerable fragments of it, and leaving a
considerable space of clear water along shore to the southward.
On the morning of the 26th it was nearly calm, with continued rain
and thick weather; and there being now a space of clear water for
nearly three quarters of a mile to the southward of us, we took
advantage of a breeze which sprung up from the northward to weigh,
at nine A.M., and run down as far as the ice would permit, and
then dropped our anchors in the best berths we could select, close
to the edge of it, with the intention of advancing step by step,
as it continued to separate by piecemeal.
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