that today, with the allowance of a 25th of a
pound of bread at breakfast, and another at dinner, with the proportion
of water, I was happy to see that every person thought he had feasted.

In the evening we saw a gannet; and the clouds remained so fixed in the
west that I had little doubt of our being near the land. The people,
after taking their allowance of water for supper, amused themselves with
conversing on the probability of what we should find.

Thursday 28.

At one in the morning the person at the helm heard the sound of breakers,
and I no sooner lifted up my head than I saw them close under our lee,
not more than a quarter of a mile distant from us. I immediately hauled
on a wind to the north-north-east and in ten minutes time we could
neither see nor hear them.

I have already mentioned my reason for making New Holland so far to the
southward: for I never doubted of numerous openings in the reef through
which I could have access to the shore and, knowing the inclination of
the coast to be to the north-west and the wind mostly to the southward of
east, I could with ease range such a barrier of reefs till I should find
a passage, which now became absolutely necessary, without a moment's loss
of time. The idea of getting into smooth water and finding refreshments
kept my people's spirits up: their joy was very great after we had got
clear of the breakers to which we had approached much nearer than I
thought was possible, without first discovering them.

Friday 29.

In the morning at daylight, we could see nothing of the land or of the
reefs. We bore away again and at nine o'clock saw the reefs. The sea
broke furiously over every part, and we had no sooner got near to them
than the wind came at east, so that we could only lie along the line of
the breakers, within which we saw the water so smooth that every person
already anticipated the heart-felt satisfaction he should receive as soon
as we could get within them. I now found we were embayed for we could not
lie clear with the sails, the wind having backed against us; and the sea
set in so heavy towards the reef that our situation was become unsafe. We
could effect but little with the oars, having scarce strength to pull
them, and I began to apprehend that we should be obliged to attempt
pushing over the reef. Even this I did not despair of effecting with
success when happily we discovered a break in the reef, about one mile
from us, and at the same time