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APPENDIX.
nearly as much as in the ports of this coast, where the nights are
generally calm, till a land breeze from the eastward springs up.
This light message from the Cordillera is never troublesome, neither
does it last many hours. With these winds the slcy is almost alwaj^
clear; indeed, when the sky becomes cloudy it is a sure sign of little
or no sea breeze in summer, and probably a fall of rain : in the
winter it foretels an approaching northerly wind, with rain.
In summer, ships anchor close to the land, to avoid being driven
out to sea by strong southerly winds; but as the winter approaches
a more roomy berth is advisable, though not too far out, because
near the shore there is always an undertow, and the wind is less
powerful. Seamen should bear in mind that the course of the
winds on this coast, as in all the southern hemispliere, is from
north to south, by the west : that the hardest northerly blow, with
most sea, comes from the westward of north, and that, therefore,
they should get as much as possible under the shelter of rocks or
land to the westward of them, rather than of those which only
defend from north winds, * Northers,' as they are called, give good
warning: an overcast sky ; little or no wind unless easterly ; a swell
from the northward; water higher than usual; distant land remarkably
visible, besides being raised by refraction ; and a falling barometer
; are their sure indications : but all northers are not gales:
some years pass without one that can be so termed; though few years
pass in succession without ships being driven ashore on Valparaiso
beach. Thunder and lightning are rai'e : wind of any disagreeable
strength from the east is unknown. "West winds are only felt while
a * norther ' is shifting round, previous to the sky clearing and the
wind moderating. The violence of southerly winds lasts but a few
hours : that of a northerly gale seldom continues beyond a day and
a night, generally, indeed, not so long.
Some persons say that the strength of northerly winds is not felt
to the northward of Coquimbo, but I have evidence of gales, with
heavy seas, at Copiapo : and Captain Eden informed me that he had
a very heavy gale of wind inH.M.S. ' Conway,' inlatitude 25® S.,
and longitude 9C° W., where such an interruption to the usual
southerly winds was httle expected.
How to make passages is easy to tell, for there are but two ways.
When going northward, steer direct to the place, or as nearly so as
is consistent with maldng use of the steady winds which prevail in
API'ENDIX. 2 2 9
tlxe offing : and if bound to the south, steer also d^ect to the place,
if fortunate enough to have a wind which ad„.its of your domg ^ ;
b u t i f n o t , stand out to sea,bythe wind.keeping every sail c ean f ^ K
the object being to get through the adverse southeriy wmds as ooa
as pos ible. and reach a h^titude &om which the ship will be sui . of
readiing her port, on a direct course. Every experienced seaman
« a t nJ method is more adverse to
than that of ' huggmg the wind,' as it is called. When Sir 1 hom^
H rd 1 on tm'Hoast, he used to cross the southerly w d s with
a topLast studding-sail set. as many men cross the trades, his o^e
beingto get into other winds. The current on the c o a s t o ChUe s
L t L r l y ! about half a mile a., hour; varying a little with the wind.
i
The idea some persons have of Copiapo being a difficult place to
make is rather unfounded; the following is the manner in which we
W e it hi the Beagle, when strangers to that part of the co^t . .
July 3. A dull gloomy day. wind moderate from the southward;
a t lo' .M. we were thirty miles south of Copiapo. by the dead rec
koning from noon yesterday ; but being aware of the northerly set.
which near fte shore is half a mile an hour, we steered an E.N.E.
course in for the land ; at noon it was in sight formmg two long
rounded-topped hills : the northern one was the highest it ended in
1 bluff, w i t h a l owp omt sloping off it; this we nghtly supposed
was th; Monx, of Copiapo, it bore N.E. ; and the o her which was
a-head the high land of Tortoral; tHs had a gradual slope to seaward.
A round and rather peaked black rock, about ten feet high, a
little open, of a low level (eighty-five feet Hgh) of a hght brown
colour, with some remarkable wHt e patches on it. was seen at three;
and a Uttle before it. about a point south of the Morro. was a low.
black, rocky island. The latter was Isla Grande, and the former the
Caxa Grande rock, with the west point of the anchorage cove, on
which there is a flag-staff: as we neaxed the land flie wmd ^adua^y
left us- and. as the day closed, we were four miles from the Caxa
Grande The clouds that covered the high land in-shore of Copiapo,
lifted off a litde m the evenmg, showmg us two remarkable hills, one
with a notched top, and the other hke a sugarloaf. \vith rather aflat
top • this was in a direction a httle south of the Caxa Grande, and
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