On Board S.S. Padnsay

Jan. 23, 1934

Tomorrow we go ashore, the first we will have sighted land in two weeks. I think the Captain wants to clear the port by noon so the ship has all her booms up in place ready to unload cargo tomorrow. It looks almost as bad as an old time sailing vessel.

Today we saw another ship off our port beam. It came the closest of any so far but it was still rather far away.

Today we could not get a shoot at the sun with the sextant because the sky was so overcast, consequently, we have had to sail by dead reckoning. That means we do not know where we are except that we have come so far at an approximate speed and direction, and today we should have been sure because we have to reach a small island port early tomorrow.

The boatswain put out a tolling line yesterday but I guess we are going a little too fast for tolling, at least we have not caught any thing yet.

We played ball for two hours yesterday and as yet we have not put it over the rail. Third is the charm does not count with us.

This morning I had to climb down in the hold in order to get this stationery from the purser. He was down there shoving freight around like a stevedore so the freight to be unloaded at our first port would be segregated and in shape to be landed.

The skies at mid-night last evening were beautiful. It looked as though you could reach up and pluck diamonds from the heavens. The milky-way formed a giant girdle across the sky - I should be a poet if this keeps up.