on the first leg of a four-and-a-half-month science and nature cruise, ending in the icy waters of Antarctica.

The 30 to 40 nature-loving passengers on board Northern Ranger will be treated to a tour of Nonsuch Island by Government conservation officer Mr. David Wingate and may visit the Bermuda Biological Station.

A Toronto travel agency chartered the 236-foot ship from Marine Atlantique, a Canadian crown corporation.

The "eco-cruise'' began in St. John's, Newfoundland, Meyer Agencies operations manager Capt. John Moore said. She was expected to arrive over the weekend but was delayed due to bad weather.

The rest of her passengers will be picked up in Fort Lauderdale before she heads for the Panama Canal, Galapagos Islands and other ports on the west coast of South America and in the Pacific.

Northern Ranger is expected to visit the Island again in April on her way back to Newfoundland.