But oil and water were running low, and the time had come for us to
be forced to land and renew our stock.



14 The First Night in the Islands

A LOW line of sandhills, pink and fawn in the setting sun, at one end
of them a little white village huddled round the base of a massive
four-square lighthouse--such was Wangeroog, the easternmost of the
Frisian Islands, as I saw it on the evening of 15th October. We had
decided to make it our first landing-place; and since it possesses no
harbour, and is hedged by a mile of sand at low water, we had run in
on the rising tide till the yacht grounded, in order to save
ourselves as much labour as possible in the carriage to and fro of
the heavy water-breakers and oil-cans which we had to replenish. In
faint outline three miles to the south of us was the flat plain of
Friesland, broken only by some trees, a windmill or two, and a church
spire. Between, the shallow expanse of sea was already beginning to
shrink away into lagoons, chief among which was the narrow passage by
which we had approached from the east. This continued its course
west, directly parallel to the island, and in it, at a distance of
half a mile from us, three galliots lay at anchor.

Before supper was over the yacht was high and dry, and when we had
eaten, Davies loaded himself with cans and breakers. I was for taking
my share, but he induced me to stay aboard; for I was dead tired
after an unusually long and trying day, which had begun at 2 a.m.,
when, using a precious instalment of east wind, we had started on a
complete passage of the sands from the Elbe to the Jade. It was a