When advancing years put the Himalaya out of reach my thoughts turned to sailing and the chances of combining this with climbing, two activities that have much in common. After an apprenticeship in the form of two voyages with Bobby Somerset—whom I still regard as the maestro in small boat matters—I acquired Mischief solely with a view to crossing the Patagonia ice-cap. The ice-cap had not then been crossed and since all attempts from the Argentine side had failed I thought of tackling it from the sea. Mischief, 45 ft. long, 13 ft. beam, 7 ft. 6 in. draught, of about 30 tons T.M., had been built in 1906 as a Bristol Channel pilot cutter.