Everybody now felt much happier; such is the psychological effect of hunger appeased.
On cold days a few strips of raw blubber were served out to all hands, and it is wonderful how it fortified us against the cold.
Our stock of forty days' sledging rations remained practically untouched, but once in the boats they were used at full strength.
When we first settled down at Patience Camp the weather was very mild.
New Year's Eve, however, was foggy and overcast, with some snow, and next day, though the temperature rose to 38ｰ Fahr., it was "abominably cold and wet underfoot." As a rule, during the first half of January the weather was comparatively warm, so much so that we could dispense with our mitts and work outside for quite long periods with bare hands.
Up till the 13th it was exasperatingly warm and calm.

This meant that our drift northwards, which was almost entirely dependent on the wind, was checked.

A light southerly breeze on the 16th raised all our hopes, and as the temperature was dropping we were looking forward to a period of favourable winds and a long drift north.
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.