On the 18th it had developed into a howling south-westerly gale, rising next day to a regular blizzard with much drift.  No one left the shelter of his tent except to feed the dogs, fetch the meals from the galley for his tent, or when his turn as watchman came round.  For six days this lasted, when the drift subsided somewhat, though the southerly wind continued, and we were able to get a glimpse of the sun.  This showed us to have drifted 84 miles north in six days, the longest drift we had made.  For weeks we had remained on the 67th parallel, and it seemed as though some obstruction was preventing us from passing it.  By this amazing leap, however, we had crossed the Antarctic Circle, and were now 146 miles from the nearest land to the west of us—­Snow Hill—­ and 357 miles from the South Orkneys, the first land directly to the north of us.

As if to make up for this, an equally strong north-easterly wind sprang up next day, and not only stopped our northward drift but set us back three miles to the south.  As usual, high temperatures and wet fog accompanied these northerly winds, though the fog disappeared on the afternoon of January 25, and we had the unusual spectacle of bright hot sun with a north-easterly wind.  It was as hot a day as we had ever had.  The temperature was 36° Fahr. in the shade and nearly 80° Fahr. inside the tents.  This had an awful effect on the surface, covering it with pools and making it very treacherous to walk upon.  Ten days of northerly winds rather damped our spirits, but a strong southerly wind on February 4, backing later, to south-east, carried us north again.  High temperatures and northerly winds soon succeeded this, so that our average rate of northerly drift was about a mile a day in February.  Throughout the month the diaries record alternately “a wet day, overcast and mild,” and “bright and cold with light southerly winds.”  The wind was now the vital factor with us and the one topic of any real interest.

The beginning of March brought cold, damp, calm weather, with much wet snow and overcast skies.  The effect of the weather on our mental state was very marked.  All hands felt much more cheerful on a bright sunny day, and looked forward with much more hope to the future, than when it was dull and overcast.  This had a much greater effect than an increase in rations.

A south-easterly gale on the 13th lasting for five days sent us twenty miles north, and from now our good fortune, as far as the wind was concerned, never left us for any length of time.  On the 20th we experienced the worst blizzard we had had up to that time, though worse were to come after landing on Elephant Island.  Thick snow fell, making it impossible to see the camp from thirty yards off.  To go outside for a moment entailed getting covered all over with fine powdery snow, which required a great deal of brushing off before one could enter again.