11th September - October 1933, At Sea
On the 11th September, the expedition finally departed New York, sailing for the Panama Canal. The investigators settled into the routine of ship board life, taking (and, in some cases, teaching) classes in useful subjects to those with less knowledge of their specialist fields (in Caines case, everyone on the planet). On September 19th, they passed through the canal and set sail for Melbourne, after a brief sojourn in Panama City, approaching the equator.As the ship sailed from Panama City into the Pacific Ocean, the weather worsened, causing disruption to the lessons on board and also to Ivanoff' stomach. After a few days of this, the weather brightened and the mood on board improved. As they approached the equator, the mood on ship changed again, with the crew acting in a furtive and secretive fashion. The reason for this became apparent as the equator was reached and a 'Crossing the line' ceremony was organized. This took the form of the court of Neptune hazing the passengers and crew on board who had not crossed the equator before. Professor Caine refused to take part despite the advice of Moore and alienated himself from the crew.
As the ceremony and party wound down, the mess lad Coates staggered up from the refrigerator gasping and trailed by the stench of Ammonia. Further investigation revealed that the refrigeration machinery had been sabotaged by acid being poured over one of the cooling pipes, which led to the release of Ammonia directly into the fridge, ruining much of the food stored there.
At Moore's request, the investigators started to recheck the cargo and were dismayed to learn that there had been several acts of sabotage, the worst of which was the placing of a dormant incendiary device in the hold containing the aviation fuel. Shuttlebolt and Sorrell decided to lay in wait in the hold where the bomb had been found and were rewarded when a man entered the hold deep in the night and appeared to be checking the area where some of the explosives had been found. They apprehended him and took him to Moore. Unfortunately, although his behavior was suspicious, the evidence at this stage was circumstantial. With the permission of First Officer Turlow, they searched the lads cabin and found a bottle clearly labeled Sulfuric Acid.
The captain put Henning under cabin arrest, and the incidence of sabotage ceased, leading to a pleasant sail into Melbourne, during which the investigators got to know one of the other expedition members, Jack Crisp.. Once there, statements were taken by the police and Henning lead away under arrest. However, given the circumstantial evidence against him and the threat to the expedition of a lengthy witness based trial, charges were not immediately pressed. At this point, a proper survey of the damage Henning caused could be undertaken.
Replacement orders for much of the losses had been radioed ahead and the investigators were requested to collect various pieces of equipment. Crisp and Malcolm went to collect the photographic equipment and were a little dismayed to find that the building had burnt down, however they easily found a replacement supplier. Meanwhile, Shuttlebolt set about collecting replacement generators and, after resolving a slight mix up in the order, moved on to Pemmican with Ivanoff (a delightful mix of oats, offal and blood that is a staple of Antarctic survival).They found that the address they had been given was a peach cannery and was run by a chap with who had never heard of 'Pommican'. Sorrell and Caine spent the day clearing out every grocery store in Melbourne to resupply, causing the legendary Melbourne Swedish meatball famine of 1933.
Back at the cannery, the owner offered to allow the use of his factory for the manufacture of Pommican and the next few days were spent in rewarding hard labour for the investigators and those of the crew who were sober and didn't hide well enough. Six days later, the ship set sail one last time, for the Ross Ice Shelf.