the
current must have driven us a good deal to S.S.E.. In the afternoon the
sky was overcast, the wind E.S.E. and S.E. by E. with a light breeze; we
sailed to S. by W. with our mainsails set. Towards the evening the water
became all of a sudden very smooth and of a pale colour; after sunset we
cast the lead in 40 fathom good anchoring ground, fine sand, but could
see no land: we took in our foresail and sailed in the night with the
mainsail only to avoid press of sail. We estimated ourselves to have
sailed about 12 miles on a general S.W. by S. course during the last 24
hours. In the night the wind was E. by S., E.S.E. and S.E. by E. with
fine, lovely, clear weather and a top-gallant gale; throughout the night
our average course was S., we cast the lead now and then in 42, 39, 38,
36 and 25 fathom good anchoring-ground.

On Friday the 13th do., the wind was nearly S.E., with a top-gallant gale
and smooth water; course S.S.W. and S. by W.; the water was very pale in
colour, but we could see no land; the weather was lovely and clear; at
noon we found ourselves to be in 10 deg. 50' S.L.

Shortly after noon we cast the lead in 32 fathom good anchoring-ground;
at four glasses in the afternoon we saw the land S.E. by S. of us, at
about 6 miles' distance from us it was a low-lying coast with small
hills; about 6 miles farther to westward we also saw land, not connected
with the first land, but upwards of three miles distant from the same.

Towards the evening it fell a calm; at sunset there was a faint breeze
from the S.S.E.; we made out the extremity of the land to be at about 3
miles' distance S.E. by S. of us; we were still in 32 fathom good
anchoring-ground; we accordingly went over to eastward, but when shortly
before the setting of the watch, the wind went down still more and began
to turn to the N.W., we dropped anchor in 29 fathom good
anchoring-ground.

{Page 69}

On Saturday the 14th do. the current began to set to the S.E. in the
morning, and the wind to blow hard from the E.S.E., so that we could not
carry mainsails then; we weighed anchor and set sail on a South and
South-by-east course. The water gradually shallowed, and seeing that we
could not make the easternmost land, we ran to the westernmost, where we
came to anchor at about a musket-shot's distance from the land in 10
fathom good anchoring-ground. Close along the shore the land is somewhat
rock and reefy here; this land extends here about 3 miles S.E