do Sound made the
time fly. Occasionally the ship crashed heavily as she charged her way
through the ice masses which skirted the shore. Whilst I conned the ship
leadsmen sounded carefully, and I was able to work her close in to the
coast near Cape Bird and avoid some heavy ice which we could never have
forced. At 4.30 a.m. I broke through the Cape Bird ice-field and worked
the ship on as far as Cape Royds, which was passed about 6.30 a.m.
Looking through our binoculars we noticed Shackleton's winter hut looking
quite new and fresh.

Leaving Cape Royds we made our way up McMurdo's Sound as far as
Inaccessible Island, where we found the Strait frozen over from east to
west. Skirting along the edge of the sea ice I found there was no way in,
although I endeavoured to break into it at several points to reach what
looked like open water spaces a mile or two from the ice edge.
Accordingly, we stopped and I came down to report on the outlook. Captain
Scott, Wilson, and I eventually went aloft to the cross-trees and had a
good look round; we finally decided to land and look at a place where
there appeared to be a very good beach. In "Discovery" days this spot was
known as the skuary, being a favourite nesting place for skua-gulls, a
sort of little cape. I piloted the ship as close I could to this
position, which is situate midway between Cape Bird and Cape Armitage on
Ross Island. An ice anchor was laid out and then Scott, Wilson, and I
landed on the sea ice and walked a mile or so over it to the little cape
in question.

It appeared to be an ideal winter quarters, and was then and there
selected as our base. Captain Scott named it Cape Evans, after me, for
which I was very grateful. Wilson already had a Cape named after him on
the Victoria Land coast in latitude 82 degrees.

We now returned on board and immediately commenced landing motor sledges,
ponies, etc. For better working, once the various parties were landed, we
adopted the standard time of meridian 180 degrees, in other words, twelve
hours fast on Greenwich Mean Time.

We now organised ourselves into three parties and I gave up the command
of the "Terra Nova" to Pennell till the ship returned from New Zealand
next year. The charge of the transport over the one and a half miles of
sea ice which lay between the ship and shore was given to Campbell,
whilst I took charge of the Base Station, erection of huts, and so forth,
Captain Scott himself supervising, planning