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Mivins, hand me the glass; it seems to me there's a water-sky to the northward." "What is a water-sky, Captain?" enquired Fred. "It is a peculiar, dark appearance of the sky on the horizon, which indicates open water just the reverse of that bright appearance which you have often seen in the distance, and which we call the ice-blink."
Moreover, I feel sure that the water-sky we see over there indicates the commencement of that `open sea' which, I hold, in common with many learned men, lies around the North Pole, and which I am determined to float upon before many days go by."
"Here we are with a suggestion only of open water-sky, and the ship rolling her scuppers under and sitting down bodily on the floes." The ice opened when the wind moderated, and on the afternoon of the 6th the 'Aurora' moved northward again. Her head must be pointed between floes by means of ice-anchors and warps, or by mooring to a floe and steaming round it.
Land is distinctly visible, and to the northward the black fringe of water-sky over the horizon hangs continuously. Hooke heard Macquarie Island 'speaking' Hobart. The message heard was the finish of the weather reports. We have hopes now of news in the near future. "August 23. Saw the land in the vicinity of Cape North.
I had expected the temperature to remain high, as throughout the winter we could very clearly see the dark sky over the sea. Whenever the state of the air was favourable, the dark, heavy water-sky was visible in a marked degree, leaving no doubt that a large extent of Ross Sea was open the whole year round.
This is the first day for a long time that we have registered a minimum temperature above zero for the twenty-four hours. "September 13. All around the northern horizon there is the appearance of an open water-sky, but around the ship the prospect is dreary. The sun rose at 6.20 a.m. and set at 5.25 p.m. Ship's time eleven hours five minutes of sunlight and seventeen hours light.
"That is a water-sky, for certain," exclaimed Captain Vane, eagerly, on the evening when this discovery was made. "The open ocean cannot now be far off." "There's a very dark cloud there, father," said Benjy, who, as we have before said, possessed the keenest sight of the party. "A cloud, boy! where? Um Yes, I see something " "It is land," said Chingatok, in a low voice.
Ridges are being forced up in all directions, and there is a water-sky to the south- east. It would be a relief to be able to make some effort on our own behalf; but we can do nothing until the ice releases our ship. If the floes continue to loosen, we may break out within the next few weeks and resume the fight. In the meantime the pressure continues, and it is hard to foresee the outcome.
Sunday, January 24, was a clear sunny day, with gentle easterly and southerly breezes. No open water could be seen from the mast-head, but there was a slight water-sky to the west and north-west. "This is the first time for ten days that the wind has varied from north-east and east, and on five of these days it has risen to a gale.
Mivins, hand me the glass; it seems to me there's a water-sky to the northward." "What is a water-sky, captain?" inquired Fred. "It is a peculiar, dark appearance of the sky on the horizon, which indicates open water; just the reverse of that bright appearance which you have often seen in the distance, and which we call the ice-blink."
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