It  should  be  an  invariable  rule  never  to  pass  through  kelp.  In
general,  by  keeping  clear  of  kelp  you  keep  clear  of  danger,  but  this


42  GENERAL  BEMABKS.
must  not  prevent  attention  to  the  lead,  as  the  rule  sometimes  fails;
kelp  is  always  a  sign  of  danger,  and  unless  the  spot  where  it  grows
has  Fieen  carefully  sounded,  it  is  not  safe  for  a  ship  to  pass  over  it.  A
hea\y  surge  will  occasionally  tear  the  kelp  away  from  rocks;  and  a
moderate  stream  will  ride  it  under  water,  when  it  will  not  be  seen.
AMien  passing  on  the  side  of  a  patch  of  kelp,  from  which  the  stems
stream  away  with  the  current,  care  should  be  taken  to  give  it  a  wide
berth,  because  the  kelp  showing  with  a  strong  tide  is  on  one  side  of
and  not  over  the  rocks.  The  least  water  will  usuallv  be  found  in  a
clear  s[>ot  in  the  middle  of  a  thick  patch  of  fixed  kelp.
It  is  perhaps  well  to  point  out  that  kelp  not  attached  to  Tock
floats  on  the  water  in  heaps,  whereas  kelp  attached  to  rocks  streams
away  level  with  the  surface,  while  the  leaves  give  an  occasional  flap.
INXER   PASSAGES.
