We cut off the topsides and took out all the movable gear.
Then we waited for Byron's "great ninth wave," and when it lifted the 'James Caird' in we held her and, by dint of great exertion, worked her round broadside to the sea.

Inch by inch we dragged her up until we reached the fringe of the tussock-grass and knew that the boat was above high-water mark.

The rise of the tide was about five feet, and at spring tide the water must have reached almost to the edge of the tussock-grass.

The completion of this job removed our immediate anxieties, and we were free to examine our surroundings and plan the next move.

The day was bright and clear.
King Haakon Bay is an eight-mile sound penetrating the coast of South Georgia in an easterly direction.