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13

18 July 1936.
At last we have arrived at Falmouth and are anchored in the bay
waiting for orders. We did over 15 000 miles in the 117 days and arrived
here Wed. 15th July. We had a poor run up from the Doldrums for there
seemed to be no wind at all in the North Atlantic for we never had 3
consecutive days of good sailing. A wind would blow well & then die
away - one day we went backwards 5 miles & only did 17 the next. That
day a few of us had a swim so I am able to say I've swum in the mid-
Atlantic. The further north we got (after leaving the Azores where we were
becalmed a day or so) the colder the weather became & since being at
anchor a biting cold south west wind has been blowing unceasingly
with misty rain & hardly any sun. Gardiner & I are nightwatchmen
& sleep (or rather are free to sleep) by day. However I got permission
from the captain to go ashore yesterday so dressed myself, went with
him & walked on land for the first time for over 120 days. Its just as
one would expect & the narrow twisting streets & everything old looking
& rather fascinating. There is nothing the smallness of Port Victoria in
England I understand & they told me Falmouth is a small place
for England but I was amazed at its size & there is nothing you
couldn't buy in the shops. Things are cheaper than in Aus. but one
buys with the cheaper money (I got 15/- for £1 note) so it works out the
same. I saw the world famous clipper ship "Cutty Sark" lying
at anchor; Falmouth is its home port. I've just sent you a card,
with Falmouth views, by air mail to let you know I arrived;
please let me know if you get it or not. I've telegraphed to
Australia House to send all my mail down here but its not

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