Sunday 6.
Monday 7.
Saturday 12.
Monday 14.
Tuefday 15.
I now fleered North inclining to the Eaft, and in the
evening we were overtaken by a furious ftorm at W. S. W.,
attended with fnow and fleet. It came fo fuddenly upon us,
that before we could take in our fails, two old top-fails, which
we had bent to the yards, were blown to pieces, and the other
fails much damaged. The gale lafted, without the leaft in-
termiflion, till the next morning, when it began to abate; it,
however, continued to blow very frefh till noon on the iath,
when it ended in a calm.
At this time we were in the latitude of 50° 14.' South, longitude
95° 18' Weft. Some birds being about the Ihip, we
took the advantage of the calm to put a boat in the water,
and fhot feveral birds, on which we feafted the next day.
One of thefe birds was of that fort, which has been fo often
mentioned in this journal, under the name of Port Egmont
hens. They are of the gull kind, about the fize of a raven,
with a dark brown plumage, except the under fide of each
wing, where there are fome white feathers. The reft of the
birds were albatrofles and Iheer-waters.
After a few hours calm, having got a breeze at N. W., we
made a ftretch to the S. W. for twenty-four hours; in which
route we faw a piece of wood, a bunch of weed, and a diving
peterel. The wind having veered more to the Weft; made
us tack and ftretch to the North till noon on the 14th, at
which time we were in the latitude of 4g° 32' South, longitude
93° n ' Weft. We had now calms and light breezes
fucceeding each other, till the next morning, when the wind
frelhened at W. N. W. and was attended with a thick fog and
drizzling rain the three following days, during which time
we ftretched to the North, inclining to the Eaft, and crofted
my track to Otaheite in 1769. I did intend to have kept
moré to the Weft, but the ftrong winds from that dire<5Hon „ '77+- CJ . . . February,
put it out of my power. u— ,— 4
On the eighteenth, the wind veered to S. W, and blew very'Flidaj, l8i
frelh, but was attended with clear weather, which gave us
an opportunity to afcertain our longitude by feveral lunar
obfervations made by MelTrs, Wales, Clarke, Gilbert, and
Smith. The mean refult of all, was .94° 19' 30" Weft ; Mr.
Kendal’s watch, at the fame time, gave 940 46' Weft; our
latitude was 430 53' South. The wind continued not long
at S. W. before it veered back to Weft and W. N. W.
As we advanced to the North, we felt a moft fenfible
change in the weather. The 20th, at noon, we were in the Sunday 203
latitude of 39° 58' South, longitude 94° 37' Weft, The day
was clear and pleafant, and I may fay, the only fummer’s
day we had had, fince we left New Zealand. The mercury
in the thermometer rofe to 66.
We ftill continued to fleer to the North, as the wind remained
in the old quarter; and the next day, at noon, we Monday^}
were in the latitude 37° 54' South ; which was the fame
that Juan Fernandez's difcovery is faid to lie in. We, however,
had not the leaft figns of any land lying in our neighbourhood.
The next day, at noon, we were in latitude 36° 10' South, Tuefday izi
longitude 940 56' Weft. Soon after, the wind veered to
S. S. E., and enabled us to fleer W. S. W., which I thought the
moft probable direction to find the land o f which we were
in fearch ■' and yet I had no hopes of fucceeding, as we had
a large hollow -fwell from the fame point. We, however,
continued this courfe till the 25th, when, the wind having ,n J
veered again round to the weftward, I gave it up, and flood
Vdt. I. N n -away