ts
being not less than two thousand feet. The rising hills were covered with
wood of a deep green foliage, and without any vacant spaces of rock or
sand; so that I judged this part of the coast to exceed in fertility all
that had yet fallen under observation.

Cape Otway lies very nearly in latitude 38 deg. 51' south and longitude 143 deg.
29' east. The width of the north-west entrance to Bass' Strait, between
this cape on the north and King's Island to the south, is therefore
sixteen leagues; and with the trifling exception of the Harbinger's
Reefs, which occupy not quite two leagues of the southern part, the
passage is free from danger. In such parts of it as we got soundings the
depth was between 38 and 50 fathoms.

At noon, the wind had veered to the south-east, which being directly upon
the shore, I did not think it prudent to follow the land too closely; and
we therefore kept up nearly to the wind. In the course of the afternoon,
land came in sight to the eastward; and the bearings taken at sunset were
these:

Furthest extreme towards C. Otway, S. 73 deg. W.
Furthest connected part to the northward, N. 18 W.
Two small distant peaks, N. 1 W.
Bluff head, like the N. end of an island, N. 63 E.
Extreme of the eastern land, N. 83 E.

Between the first and last of these bearings there was a deep bight
formed, at the head of which no other land than the two small peaks could
be perceived.

MONDAY 26 APRIL 1802

In the morning we kept close to an east-south-east wind, steering for the
land to the north-eastward; and at nine o'clock captain Grant's Cape
Schanck, the extreme of the preceding evening, was five leagues distant
to the N. 88 deg. E., and a rocky point towards the head of the bight bore N.
12 deg. E. On coming within five miles of the shore at eleven o'clock we
found it to be low, and mostly sandy, and that the bluff head which had
been taken for the north end of an island was part of a ridge of hills
rising at Cape Schanck. We then bore away westward in order to trace the
land round the head of the deep bight; and a noon, the situation of the
ship and principal bearings were as under:

Latitude observed, 38 deg. 22'
Longitude by time keepers, 144 311/2
Cape Schanck, S. 68 deg. E.
The rocky point, distant 6 or 7 miles,