Norwegian-British-Swedish Antarctic Expedition, 1949–52

Extract

After loading stores at Göteborg and Oslo, the expedition sailed from London on 23 November 1949 in the chartered Norwegian sealing vessel Norsel, G. Jakobsen, master. After calling at Cape Town, where P. G. Law of the Australian Department of External Affairs and J. A. King of the Union Weather Bureau of South Africa joined the vessel as observers, the Norsel headed south on 27 December to meet the Norwegian whaling factory Thorshovdi, which was carrying an advanced party of five men, with sixty dogs and some heavy equipment. An unexpectedly wide detour had to be made across the South Atlantic as the Thorshevdi was at that time in the Scotia Sea.