sand-fathom mark had passed out, the order was given, "Hold
on and make fast." Speed was now reduced to one and a half knots and the
wire watched until it gave a decided indication of the trawl dragging
over the bottom. The strain was now taken by the windlass-barrel,
controlled by a screw-brake, backed if necessary by a number of turns
round the forward bitts. A slow drag over the bottom was generally
continued for one hour. The engines were then stopped, and the order
came, "Stand by to heave away." This was quickly followed by "Knock
out," which meant the disengaging of the after-block from the wire and
allowed the vessel to swing round head-on to the wire. "Vast heaving"
indicated the appearance of the net at the surface, and, when the
mouth of the net was well above the bulwarks the derrick was topped up
vertically, the lower part of the net dragged inboard and the cod-end
untied, the catch being thus allowed to empty itself on deck. The
contents of the haul supplied the biologists with the work of sorting
and bottling for the next twelve hours or more.

The form of trawl used on board the 'Aurora' was known as a Monagasque
trawl, of a type employed by the Prince of Monaco. As will be seen from
the sketch, it is of simple construction and possesses the advantage of
having both sides similar so that it is immaterial which lands on the
bottom.

The winter cruise in the Sub-Antarctic began on May 18, 1912, after
we had refitted in Sydney and taken on board all the oceanographic
apparatus, during the previous month. Leaving Port Jackson, we proceeded
to Port Kembla, N.S.W., and took in four hundred and eleven tons of
coal.

The following was the personnel of the ship's officers on this and the
two following cruises: Chief Officer, F. D. Fletcher; Chief Engineer, F.
J. Gillies; Second Officer, P. Gray; Third Officer, C. P. de la Motte.

During the first dredging cruise, Mr. E. R. Waite, from the Canterbury
Museum, Christchurch, was in charge of the biological work.

My plan was to go through Bass Strait and then to sail towards the
Royal Company Islands as given on the French chart, before heading for
Macquarie Island. From thence we should steam across to the Auckland
Islands. At both the latter places Mr. Waite would be able to secure
specimens. It was not expected that the weather would permit of much
trawling, but we anticipated some good soundings. As a matter of
fact, sub-antarctic weather in the winter may b