…between these people and the Patagonians: the Patagonian will drink as much rum or other fire water as they can get, and when near a settlement are always more or less drunk. The Fuegians cannot being induced to drink wine or beer.
The summer season is far preferable for making the passages to the strait in going either way. The strongest winds are experienced during the equinoctial months, though the heaviest gales do not occur at the equinoxes. Toward the middle of May, the weather becomes colder, and the snow, which has been covering the summits of the hills, perhaps for some time will be seen to advance down the slope; it however varies very much. The coldest weather is in June, July and August, being about 20° F.
Kelp
[Kelp} wherever kelp is seen, the bottom is generally sure to be more than unusually foul and no mud. Keep a good look out for “fixed kelp”, the weed which grows on every rock that is covered by the sea, and not very far below the surface. Lying upon the water the leaves and stocks show almost as well as a buoy. Long stems with leaves lying regularly along the surface are usually attached to rocky places or else to large stones. When a clear spot is seen in the middle of a thick bed of kelp, one may be sure to find there the least water.
Fogs
[Fogs] are of rare occurrence and of short duration in the eastern part of the strait, though sometimes they set in thick for a few hours, without any warning during calm weather.
Squalls
[Squalls] blow with great suddenness and force all over the strait. Lightning and thunder are very rare, except in very bad weather.
Refuge
[Refuge] stations are on Dungeness (beacons), Director Hill, and Sandy Point are so constructed as to serve as refuges for shipwrecked persons; they afford shelter - no locks, but sliding doors
(over)
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