ht (26th) we weighed with a light breeze from South-West, but
soon afterwards falling calm, and the tide drifting us to the South-East
the anchor was again dropped: ten minutes afterwards a land breeze from
East-South-East sprung up, to which we again weighed, but no sooner were
we under sail than we were enveloped in a thick mist that blew off the
land, where it had been collecting for the last two days. At eleven
o'clock the fog cleared away to seaward, but the land was screened from
our view until noon, when a sea breeze from west gradually dispersed the
fog, and the hillocky summit of Cape Latouche-Treville was seen, bearing
South 17 degrees West. At half-past twelve two rocky lumps on the land to
the westward of Cape Villaret were seen, and very soon afterwards the
hill on the cape made its appearance. Between Capes Villaret and
Latouche-Treville is a bay formed by very low sandy land, slightly
clothed with a stunted vegetation. The wind was now unfavourable for our
approaching the land, and after standing off to sea and then towards the
shore we anchored in thirteen fathoms coarse sand.

At this anchorage we found a still greater difference in the tides than
was experienced the night preceding; the flood set South-East by East and
East-South-East; and the ebb from North-North-East round to
West-North-West; the rise was sixteen feet and a half, from which it
would appear probable that there must be some reason for so great an
indraught of water into the bight between Cape Villaret and Point
Gantheaume, which I have named Roebuck Bay, after the ship that Captain
Dampier commanded when he visited this part of the coast.

As the wind now blew constantly from the South-West, or from some
southern direction, and caused our progress to be very slow and tedious;
and as the shore for some distance to the southward of Cape
Latouche-Treville had been partly seen by the French, I resolved upon
leaving the coast. Our water was also nearly expended, and our
provisions, generally, were in a very bad state; besides which the want
of a second anchor was so much felt that we dared not venture into any
difficulty where the appearance of the place invited a particular
investigation, on account of the exposed nature of the coast, and the
strength of the tides, which were now near the springs: upon every
consideration, therefore, it was not deemed prudent to rely any longer
upon the good fortune that had hitherto so often attended us i