ion given the name of 't Westeinde van
Nova Guinea (Western extremity of N. G.), seeing that we have in reality
found the land to be an unbroken coast, which in the chart is marked as
islands, such as Ceram and the Papues, owing to misunderstanding and
untrustworthy information.

[* Entrance of Torres Strait.]

APRIL.

On the first the wind was W. by S. with good weather; we weighed anchor
and drifted with the ebb running from the N.E. when we had run 11/2 mile
with the tide to the S.W., we came to anchor again in 6 fathom.

On the second, the wind being W. by N., we tried to tack about to the W.
with the ebb-tide in 4, 5 and 6 fathom; we had variable winds the whole
day; towards the evening we cast anchor in 4 fathom three miles from the
land, having this day progressed 4 miles to the W. and W. by N.

On the third we set sail again at daybreak, the wind being N., course
kept W.N.W. in 7, 2, and 21/2 fathom, the water in these parts being of
greatly varying depths, so that we had to keep sounding continually; in
the afternoon we dropped anchor in 4 fathom, having drifted 21/2, miles
with the ebb-tide.

On the 4th, the wind being N.E. by N., we set sail again with good
weather: in the afternoon we ran on with the tide and cast anchor in 7
fathom, having lost sight of the land, and sailed 8 miles W. and W. by N.

* * *

NOTE.

Here we managed with extreme difficulty and great peril to get again out
of the shallows aforesaid, into which we had sailed as into a trap,
between them and the land, for which happy deliverance God be praised;
the shallows extend South and North, from 4 to 9 miles from the mainland,
and are 10 miles in length from East to West.

{Page 35}

On the fifth we set sail again at daybreak, the wind being E.N.E., on
courses varying between S.W. and S., by which we got into deeper water,
between 14 and 26 fathom, and sailed 18 miles in the last 24 hours.

On the sixth the wind was S.W. with rain, course held S.E.; at night we
were in Lat. 9 deg. 45', having sailed 11 miles to the E.S.E. in the last 24
hours.

On the 7th, the wind being S.S.E., we ran on an Eastern course in 15 or
16 fathom, and sailed 4 miles till the evening; at nightfall we went over
to S.E., and cast anchor in 4 fathom, but as the yacht was veering round,
we got into 2 fathom, having sailed three miles E.S.E. during the night.

In the morning of the 8th we clearly saw several stones lying on the
sea-bottom, without per