Freezing spray, the last section being removed after four, yes 4 days continuous chipping, banging & use of steam hoses. The black vertical piece under where they are using the pick axe is the spare anchor stock. The ship was covered from bow to stern on arrival in Philadelphia from Corner Brook. Rather than head for the Gulf Stream and stop the icing and melt it off the Master wanted to go the shortest route and we iced up all the way. The pilot boarded at number six hatch, port side as the starboard side had the most ice. The rope tackles on the derricks were sawn off as it was easier to replace the rope than try and remove the ice from them, the ice around them was thicker than the goal posts, and just as hard.Courtesy of Tom Kearsey.

As a matter of interest this photograph was used in the October 1968 issue of the Review magazine under the title "Life with Bowaters". The caption reads "At other times the Bowaters can drift all day in the ice, waiting for a friendly icebreaker to come and get them out. Then they get going and the spray freezes solid as it hits the ship. The picture shows the last of an estimated 500 tons of frozen spray being chopped off Margaret Bowater at Philadelphia in January this year. There`s even a man using a pick axe just to prove how hard the stuff gets.

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