five in the morning [FRIDAY 8 JANUARY
1802], East Mount Barren was four leagues distant to the northward, and
our course was resumed along the shore. The breakers were passed at the
distance of two miles, and the mount was set over them, bearing N. 38 deg. W.
at seven o'clock. The second small reef lies nearly east-north-east from
the first, and was left three miles to the northward.

On the preceding evening a small rocky island had been seen indistinctly
from the mast head, and it now again came in sight to the eastward. The
French ships had passed without side of this island, and I therefore
steered to go between it and the mainland; but breaking water was seen to
extend so far to the north that the uncertainty of finding a passage made
the attempt too dangerous with the wind right aft. We accordingly hauled
up to windward of the island, and had 38 fathoms between it and a small
reef lying S. 72 deg. W., between two and three miles from it. The island is
low, smooth, and sterile, and is frequented by seals; its latitude is 34 deg.
6' and longitude 120 deg. 28', and it lies eight or nine miles from the
mainland.

At noon the rocky island was near ten miles astern, and a cluster of four
small islets appeared in the offing at the distance of four leagues. The
nearest part of the main land, seven or eight miles distant, was low and
sandy, as it had been all the way from East Mount Barren, and continued
to be to the furthest extreme visible from the masthead; there were,
however, a few scattered sandy hillocks on the shore, but nothing could
be seen of the back country. Our situation, and the bearings taken at
this time were as under:

Latitude, observed to the north and south, 34 deg. 1' 48"
Longitude by time keepers, 119 38
East Mount Barren, N. 801/2 W.
The small island astern, S. 65 W.
Four islets in the offing, S. 77 E.
Mast-head extreme of the coast, N. 59 E.

We passed at nearly an equal distance between the four rocky islets and
the main land, that is to say, at six or eight miles from each; and at
five o'clock were abreast of a projecting part of the coast where the
sandy hills seemed to form white cliffs. This is called Cap des Basses
(Shoal Cape) in the French chart; and we saw, in fact, an islet under the
land, surrounded with much broken water, and the soundings decreased from
35 to 25 fathoms soon after passing