6,1896,
when the _Spray_ sailed from Sydney. My intention was now to sail
around Cape Leeuwin direct for Mauritius on my way home, and so I
coasted along toward Bass Strait in that direction.

There was little to report on this part of the voyage, except
changeable winds, "busters," and rough seas. The 12th of December,
however, was an exceptional day, with a fine coast wind, northeast.
The _Spray_ early in the morning passed Twofold Bay and later Cape
Bundooro in a smooth sea with land close aboard. The lighthouse on the
cape dipped a flag to the _Spray's_ flag, and children on the
balconies of a cottage near the shore waved handkerchiefs as she
passed by. There were only a few people all told on the shore, but the
scene was a happy one. I saw festoons of evergreen in token of
Christmas, near at hand. I saluted the merrymakers, wishing them a
"Merry Christmas." and could hear them say, "I wish you the same."

From Cape Bundooro I passed by Cliff Island in Bass Strait, and
exchanged signals with the light-keepers while the _Spray_ worked up
under the island. The wind howled that day while the sea broke over
their rocky home.

A few days later, December 17, the _Spray_ came in close under
Wilson's Promontory, again seeking shelter. The keeper of the light at
that station, Mr. J. Clark, came on board and gave me directions for
Waterloo Bay, about three miles to leeward, for which I bore up at
once, finding good anchorage there in a sandy cove protected from all
westerly and northerly winds.

Anchored here was the ketch _Secret_, a fisherman, and the _Mary_ of
Sydney, a steam ferry-boat fitted for whaling. The captain of the
_Mary_ was a genius, and an Australian genius at that, and smart. His
crew, from a sawmill up the coast, had not one of them seen a live
whale when they shipped; but they were boatmen after an Australian's
own heart, and the captain had told them that to kill a whale was no
more than to kill a rabbit. They believed him, and that settled it. As
luck would have it, the very first one they saw on their cruise,
although an ugly humpback, was a dead whale in no time, Captain Young,
the master of the _Mary_, killing the monster at a single thrust of a
harpoon. It was taken in tow for Sydney, where they put it on
exhibition. Nothing but whales interested the crew of the gallant
_Mary_, and they spent most of their time here gathering fuel along
shore for a cruise on the grounds off Tasmania. Whenever the