TCD MS 10515 folio 15r
[March 6th 1916]
we drew near the head of the Gulf we hoisted ouit pilot flag. On reaching the Shatt-al-Arab light-ship the captain sent off a boat to bring on board an Arab pilot. A bar of soft mud obstructs the entrance to the Shatt-al- Arab where the current of the Mesopotamia rivers meets the sea far out of sight of shore. As the tide was ebbing we put on full speed in the hope of being able to force our way through. As we drove over the bar it was easily seen that the ship ploughed into the soft mud. Although the engines were working at 16 knots, the vessels speed did not exceed six and the water astern was reddish-brown in colour from the silt churned up from the bottom of the sea. The lead gave the depth as 17 feet; our draught was