istance from the main at which Pepys' Island is placed in
Halley's chart, but unhappily we have no certain account of the place.
The only person who pretends to have seen it, is Cowley,[15] the account
of whose voyage is now before me; and all he says of its situation is,
that it lies in latitude 47 deg.S.; for he says nothing of its longitude: He
says, indeed, that it has a fine harbour; but he adds, that the wind
blew so hard he could not get into it, and that he therefore stood away
to the southward. At this time I also was steering southward; for the
weather being extremely fine, I could see very far to the northward of
the situation in which it is laid down. As I supposed it must lie to the
eastward of us, if indeed it had any existence, I made the Tamar signal
to spread early in the afternoon; and as the weather continued to be
very clear, we could see, between us, at least twenty leagues. We
steered S.E. by the compass, and at night brought-to, being, by my
account, in latitude 47 deg.18'S. The next morning it blew very hard at N.W.
by N. and I still thought the island might lie to the eastward; I
therefore intended to stand about thirty leagues that way, and if I
found no island, to return into the latitude of 47 deg. again. But a hard
gale coming on, with a great sea, I brought-to about six o'clock in the
evening under the main-sail; and at six o'clock the next morning, the
wind being at W.S.W. we made sail again under our courses to the
northward. I now judged myself to be about sixteen leagues to the
eastward of the track I had run before: Port Desire bore S.80 deg.53'W.
distant ninety-four leagues; and in this situation I saw a great
quantity of rock-weed, and many birds. We continued to stand to the
northward the next day under our courses, with a hard gale from S.W. to
N.W. and a great sea. At night, being in latitude 46 deg. 50' S. I wore
ship, and stood in to the westward again, our ships having spread every
day as far as they could be seen by each other: And on the 11th at noon,
being now certain that there could be no such island as is mentioned by
Cowley, and laid down by Halley under the name of Pepys' Island, I
resolved to stand in for the main, and take in wood and water, of which
both ships were in great want, at the first convenient place I could
find, especially as the season was advancing very fast, and we had no
time to lose. From this time we continued to haul in for the land as the
winds would
|