1778.
O Sober.
T uefday 27.
Wednef.28.
Thurfday 29.
»there by the middle o f May, the enfuing fummer. In con-
fequence o f this refolution, I gave Captain Clerke orders
how to proceed, in cafe o f reparation; appointing Sandwich
Iflands for the firft place o f rendezvous, and the harbour
o f Petropaulowika, in Kamtfchatka, for the fecond.
Soon after we were out o f the harbour, the wind veered
to the South Eaft and Eaft South Eaft, which, by the evening,
carried us. as far as the Weftern part o f Oonalaihka.
where we got the wind at South. With this we ftretched to
the Weftward, till feven o’clock the next morning, when we
wore, and flood to the Eaft. T he wind, by this time, had
increafed in fuch a manner as to reduce us to our three
courfes. It blew in ve ry heavy fqualls, attended with rain,
hail, and fnowu
At nine o’ clock in the morning o f the 28th, the ifland o f
Oonalaihka bore South Eaft, four leagues diftant. We then
wore and flood to the Weftward. T he ftrength o f the gale
was now over, and toward evening, the little wind that blew
infenfibly veered round to the Eaft, where it continued but
a fhort time before it got to North Eaft, and increafed to a
ve ry hard gale with rain. I fleered firft to the Southward;
and as the wind inclined to the North and North Weft, I
fleered more Wefterly.
On the 29th, at h a lf paft fix in the morning, we faw land
extending from Eaft by South to South by Weft, fuppofed to
be the ifland Amoghta. At eight, finding that we could
not weather the ifland, as the wind had now veered to the
Weftward, I gave over plying, and bore away for Oonalaihka,
with a view o f going to the Northward and Eaft-
ward o f that ifland, not daring to attempt a paflage to the
South Eaft o f it, in fo hard a gale o f wind. At the time
7 we
we bore away, the land extended from Eaft by South h a lf >778-
South to South South Weft, four leagues diftant. The Ion- , oa°ber-a>
gitude by the time-keeper was 191° , 17', and the latitude 53°
38'. This w ill give a ve ry different fituation to this ifland
from that alfigned to it upon the Ruffian map. But it mud
be remembered, that this is one o f the iflands w hich Mr.
Ifmyloff faid was wrong, placed. Indeed-it is a doubt i f this-
be Amoghta* ; for after Ifmyloff had made the correction,
no land appeared upon the map in this latitude ; but as I
have obferved before,, we mull not- look for accuracy in this;
chart.
A t eleven o’clock, as w e were fleering to the North Eaft, w e
difcovered an elevated rock, like a tower, b earing North North
Eaft h a lf Eaft, four leagues diftant. It lies in the latitude o f
£3° 5 7 '> and in the longitude o f 191“ 2', and hath-no place
in the Ruffian map+. We. mult have pa fled vitrv near it in
the night. We could ju d g e o f its fteepnefs from this cir-
cumftance, that the fea, which now run very high, broke
no where but againft it. At three in the afternoon, after
ge tting a fight o f Oonalaihka, we ihortened fail, and hauled
the wind, not having time to get through the paflage before
night. At day-break the next morning,- w e bore away Friday 21«..
under courfes, and clofe-reefed topfails, having a very hard
gale at Weft North Weft, with heavy fqualls; attended with
fnow. At noon, we were in the middle o f the ftrait, be-
* On the chart o f Krenitzen’s and Levafheff’s voyage, in 176B and 1769,: which
we find in M r. Coxe’s book, p. 251. an ifland called Amuckta,'is laid down, -not;
very far from the place alfigned to Amoghta by Captain Cook'. . . ^
' + Though this rock had no place in the Ruffian map produced by Ifmylofiv it-has a
place in the chart o f Krenitzen’ s and Levaiheff’s voyage, above referred to.’. T h a t
chart alfo agrees with Captain Cook’ s, as to the- general pofition o f this- group o£
iflands. T h e Angularly indented ihores o f the ifland o f Oonalaihka are reprefented in»
both charts much alike. Thefe circumftances are worth attending to, as the more-,
modern .Ruffian maps o f this Archipelago are fo wonderfully erroneous.-
twees*