, the direction is
E. and W. Mr Wales having observed the times of high and low water by
the shore, concluded that it must be high water at the full and change,
about twelve o'clock, and the water riseth about four or five feet.
The distance between Fayal and Flores was confirmed by Mr Rebiers,
lieutenant of the French frigate, who told me, that after being by
estimation two leagues due south of Flores, they made forty-four leagues
on a S.E. by E. course by compass, to St Catherine's Point on Fayal.
I found the latitude of the ship at anchor 38 deg. 31' 55" N.
in the bay
By a mean of seventeen sets of lunar 28 24 30 W.
observations, and reduced to the bay
by the watch, the longitude was made
By a mean of six sets after leaving it, 28 53 22
and reduced back by the watch
-----------------
Longitude by observation 28 38 56
-----------------
Ditto, by the watch 28 55 45
Error of the watch on our arrival at 16 26-1/2
Portsmouth
-----------------
True longitude by the watch 28 39 18-1/2
_________________
I found the variation of the compass, by several azimuths, taken by
different compasses on board the ship, to agree very well with the like
observations made by Mr Wales on shore; and yet the variation thus found
is greater by 5 deg. than we found it to be at sea, for the azimuths taken
on board the evening before we came into the bay, gave no more than 16 deg.
18' W. variation, and the evening after we came out 17 deg. 33' W.
I shall now give some account of the variation, as observed in our run
from the island of Fernando De Noronha to Fayal. The least variation we
found was 37' W. which was the day after we left Fernando De Noronha,
and in the latitude of 33' S., longitude 32 deg. 16' W. The next day, being
nearly in the same longitude, and in the latitude of 1 deg. 25' N., it was
1 deg. 23' W.; and we did not find it increase till we got into the latitude
of 5 deg. N., longitude 31 deg. W. After this our compasses gave different
variation, viz. from 3 deg. 57' to 5 deg. 11' W. till we arrived in the latitude
of 26 deg. 44' N., longitude 41 deg. W., when we found 6 deg. W. It then i
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