Amundsen watches Rønne at his sewing machine. A sail has been rigged up over the deck to give the dogs some shade. [1]Three days out from Madeira, Amundsen noted, "We have now begun the preparations for our South Polar journey. Rønne [the sailmaker] is sewing floors into our 16-man tents [for the base camp]. Bjaaland has started on the sledges." [2]
The atmosphere on the Fram had shifted drastically in the past few days, as Amundsen, obsessed with the necessity of perfecting their equipment, focussed on the goal ahead. Johansen grumbled in his diary that "many things ... like the maintenance of the sails ... are neglected [and] the ordinary work of every ship had become ... so to speak, a minor matter." [3]
Because his original plan allowed for much of his sledging equipment to be made onboard during the long Arctic winters, Amundsen had not been able to acquire it ahead of time without attracting undue attention. Everything must now be done in the four months from Madeira to the Bay of Whales.
Notes:
[1] Nasjonalbiblioteket.
[2] Roald Amundsen, [ca. 12 September, 1910], quoted by Roland Huntford in Scott and Amundsen (New York : Putnam, 1980, c1979), p.304.
[3] Hjalmar Johansen, diary, [no date given], quoted by Roland Huntford in Scott and Amundsen (New York : Putnam, 1980, c1979), p.305.
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