The next morning, being the 17th, we succeeded better; for, falling in with a quantity of loose ice, we hoisted out two boats; and by noon got on board as much as we could manage.  We then made sail for the east, with a gentle breeze northerly, attended with snow and sleet, which froze to the rigging as it fell.  At this time we were in the latitude of 64 deg. 41’ south, longitude 155 deg. 44’ west.  The ice we took up proved to be none of the best, being chiefly composed of frozen snow; on which account it was porous, and had imbibed a good deal of salt water; but this drained off, after lying a while on deck, and the water then yielded was fresh.  We continued to stretch to the east, with a piercing cold northerly wind, attended with a thick fog, snow, and sleet, that decorated all our rigging with icicles.  We were hourly meeting with some of the large ice islands, which, in these high latitudes, render navigation so very dangerous:  At seven in the evening, falling in with a cluster of them, we narrowly escaped running aboard of one, and, with difficulty, wore clear of the others.  We stood back to the west till ten o’clock; at which time the fog cleared away, and we resumed our course to the east.  At noon, the next day, we were in the latitude of 64 deg. 49’ S., longitude 149 deg. 19’ W. Some time after, our longitude, by observed distance of the sun and moon, was 149 deg. 19’ W.; by Mr Kendal’s watch 148 deg. 36’; and, by my reckoning, 148 deg. 43’, latitude 64 deg. 48’ S.

The clear weather, and the wind veering to N.W., tempted me to steer south; which course we continued till seven in the morning of the 20th, when the wind changing to N.E. and the sky becoming clouded, we hauled up S.E.  In the afternoon the wind increased to a strong gale, attended with a thick fog, snow, sleet, and rain, which constitutes the very worst of weather.  Our rigging, at this time, was so loaded with ice, that we had enough to do to get our topsails down, to double the reef.  At seven o’clock in the evening, in the longitude of 147 deg. 46’, we came, the second time, within the antarctic or polar circle, continuing our course to the S.E. till six o’clock the next morning.  At that time, being in the latitude of 67 deg. 5’ S., all at once we got in among a cluster of very large ice islands, and a vast quantity of loose pieces; and as the fog was exceedingly thick, it was with the utmost difficulty we wore clear of them.  This done, we stood to the N.W. till noon, when, the fog being somewhat dissipated, we resumed our course again to the S.E.  The ice islands we met with in the morning were very high and rugged, forming at their tops, many peaks; whereas the most of those we had seen before, were flat at top, and not so high; though many of them were between two and three hundred feet in height, and between two and three miles in circuit, with perpendicular cliffs or sides, astonishing to behold.  Most or our winged companions had now left us; the grey albatrosses only remained; and, instead of the other birds, we were visited by a few antarctic peterels.