During the next hour of hard pulling we seemed to make no progress at all.

The 'James Caird' and the 'Dudley Docker' had been towing the 'Stancomb Wills' in turn, but my boat now took the 'Stancomb Wills' in tow permanently, as the 'James Caird' could carry more sail than the 'Dudley Docker' in the freshening wind.
We were making up for the south-east side of Elephant Island, the wind being between north-west and west.

The boats, held as close to the wind as possible, moved slowly, and when darkness set in our goal was still some miles away.

A heavy sea was running.

We soon lost sight of the 'Stancomb Wills', astern of the 'James Caird' at the length of the painter, but occasionally the white gleam of broken water revealed her presence.