On the 11th and 12th the wind fell light and we had fine weather. I set all hands to cleaning up, for this work had been suspended during the bad weather. We could do nothing to the outside of the ship, which was so scratched and scarred as to make hopeless any attempt to improve it. We managed, however, to brighten up the wardroom and cabins a little. “Old Mac” scraped the foremast—a difficult job on account of the heavy rolling—but it greatly improved our appearance. This fine old seaman is a product of the old-time sailing ships, a real sailor of a type only too rare to-day. He has made three voyages to the Antarctic. The rest of this portion of the trip was uneventful till, on the 17th, we sighted on the horizon the Cape of Good Hope and saw Table Mountain appear from behind the clouds. We entered Table Bay early in the morning of Sunday, June 18th. At Cape Town we were met by our agents and Mr. Cook, who was acting as Mr. Rowett’s representative. They brought us a big mail. If was interesting to see the members crowd round till they had received their letters, when each man sought out a quiet corner to which he might retire and read them undisturbed by anyone. After the usual formalities had been gone through, we were piloted to a snug berth in the Alfred Dock. It was not until I had seen the comments in the Cape Town Press that I realized how much battered our little ship had been in her arduous struggle with the heavy seas and ice. One paper spoke of her as “small, unpretentious, but grizzly looking, and bearing signs where the ice had scored furrows in her planks.” Another described her as “a black, stubby little boat, steaming into Cape Town unknown, unannounced ... the leaden skies, the cold green waters of the harbour, the sullen murkiness of the distant sea, the little furtive showers of rain, all seemed to claim the little ship as part of themselves, catch her up and absorb her into them as an essential part of the picture....” All were amazed at her size, and few believed that so small a craft could have accomplished so much and covered so great a distance. We had the warmest of welcomes from the people of South Africa, and during our stay were so lavishly entertained by these hospitable folk that each one of us must carry for ever a warm spot in his heart for Cape Town and its inhabitants. We were received by the Prime Minister (General Smuts) and entertained by him and his wife at their beautiful house at Groote Schur.