N A U T I C A L R E M A R K S .
PASSAGE FROM TENERIFFE TO RIO JANEIRO,
J u n e S to J u i y 11,
I n Ju n e , 1825, His Majesty ’s ships W e lle s le y and Bramble sailed from Santa Cruz for
Rio Jan e iro , and th re e days afterwards th e Blossom depa rted for th e same place. A bout the
ak p re sen tly , in 39" W . T h e Helle spont, rvhich sailed indliferently, was forty-six days,
tlie p acket forty-six days, the Blossom thirty-shx, the W e lle s le y forty-five, and th e Brambfe
fo rty -e ig h t days. T h u s , mak in g a reasonable allowance for th e distance between E n g lan d
an d Tenerifiie, th e H e lle sp o n t made th e best passage, the p acket and Blossom next, the
WeUesley n ex t, and the Bramble th e w o rst; by wbicb It appears th a t in proportion as the
vessels we re to the westward th e passages were shortened. T h e merchant brig, however,
was too fa r to th e westward, as she could not we ather Cape S t. Roque, and, like the K in g
G e o rg e , Indiaman, she was obliged to stan d back to th e variable winds to regain her easting^
SO th a t h e r passage occupied a h undred and ten days !
1 his passage is so freq u en tly m ade, th a t remarks upon it mig h t be tliought almost superfluous
; b u t I am n o t disposed to undervalue this sort o f information, wbich is in g en e ral too
much n egle cted. T h e r e is no doubt th a t th e ro u te from En g lan d to Rio Jan e iro o u g h t to be
varied according to th e time of the y e a r; for even in the Atlantic the trade-winds a r ? affected
b y monsoons, and it is only by a long series o f observations th a t we can ascertain a t what
time of th e y ea r it is advisable to cross th e eq u a to r in an y p articu la r longitude. T h e
jo u rn a ls o f th e packets for one y ea r would afford valuable information on this subject. In
th e passage of the Blossom we ca rried the N. E . trade from Teneriffe to 8" N., and met the
S. E . wind in 5° 3 0 ' N. and 25° 5 0 ' AV., which carried us to Cape Frio. T h e trades were
steady, and in th e n o rth ern hemisphere fresh.
F rom the time o f leaving Tene riffe u n til we lost th e K E . trade, th e cu rren t set S. 5i1.°
by a rip p lin g o f th e u'ate r, which could be seen a t a considerable distance. T lie four siu^
ce eding days th e c u rre n t ra n between S. 45« E . and S. 89« E . a t the average ra te of thirteen
miles p e r day. D u r in g this time we changed our position from 7« 21' N. latitude, and
longitude 26« 5 8 ' W . to 3« 5 6 ' N., and 26 “ 44' W ., and had had the S. E . trade one day.
AVe now g o t in to a s tro n g N. AA'". current, which ran betwe en N. 58« AV. and N. 72® W . a t
an ave rage ra te o f twenty-two and a lialf m iles p e r day, un til we made F ernando Noroiiha.
From F ern a n d o N o ro n h a th e cu rren t changed its direction, and run between S. 78« \V.
an d S . 21° VV. a t an ave rage o f twenty-seven miles p e r clay, until a h undred miles due
E . o f Cape Ledo. AA'^e stood on to th e so u thw a rd ; and as we neared the land about Cape
Augustine th e velocity o f the cu rren t abated, and our daily erro r was reduced to seven miles
S. 52® AV.; b u t as we drew off the land, still continuing to the southward, th e c u rre n t again
increased, and became variable. T h e first hu n d re d miles from Cape A u g u stin e it ran
S. 87” AV. twenty-six m ile s ; the n e x t due S . twenty-seven m ile s; th e following S . 76« AV.
twen ty -o n e miles, and then S . 80° AV. eleven miles, u n til our arrival off Cape Frio, when
th e whole amount of c u rre n t from Teneriffe was two h undred and seventy-four miles
S. 57° AV.
F rom this it appears th a t th e N . E . trades propelled the waters in a S. AAk by AV. direction,
a t th e ra te of eleven and a h a lf miles p e r d iem * ; an d th e S. E . trades to th e AA'', N. AA'^.,
with double th e velocity, or twenty-two and a h a lf miles per d a y * ; and th a t in th e in te rm
ediate space whe re lig h t variable winds prevailed, th ere obtained a s trong cun-ent, which
ran in a contra ry direction to both these, a t th e ra te o f th irteen miles p e r day.
I t appears from numerous observations th a t in both hemispheres th e ra te o f th e cu rren t
is accelerated on approaching the G u lf of M e x ic o ; and as my route was ra th e r more to the
westward than th a t usually pursued, th e above-mentioned ave rage ra te s are g re a te r, probably,
th an will be expe rienc ed u n d e r ordinary circumstances.
REMARKS ON THE PASSAGE FROM RIO DE JANEIRO ROUND CAPE HORN TO CONCEPTION.
A u g u s t 15 ¿0 October 8.
T h is passage was unusually long, owing to the prevalence o f contra ry winds, particularly
in the vicinity o f the R iv e r P la te. AA’e sailed from Rio de Jan e iro on th e n ig h t of
th e 15th August, with a westerly wind, the Corcovado and Sugar L o a f capped with clouds.
On the 16th, the wind shifted to the e a s tw a rd ; and towards n ig h t a gale suddenly arose, accompanied
with th u n d er and lightning. T h e flashes o f lightning passed frequently between
th e m a s ts ; and la tte rly the electrical fluid settled upon th e mast-heads and topsail-yard-arms,
and remained th ere for fifteen minutes. AVe had been warned of the approach of this storm by
the appearance of the sky and a few flashes of lig h tn in g , and reduced our sail in time, otherwise
it mig h t have done much mischief from the suddenness and violence w ith which it commenced.
T h is bre eze wen t round to N. and N . AAA to AA'. by S., th e n to S. E-, S. S. AV.,
N , AAA, southerly again, and S. E ., east, and S. by AAA, u n til th e 25 tli, th e we ather bein g
gloomy, and th e winds lig h t or o f moderate s tren g th .
O n th e 25th, in la titu d e 36° an d longitude 48° AV., we encountered the first pampero,
which came on with a heavy squall from S. S. AV. attended with rain. F o r n in e days we had
these winds; during which time we could seldom ca rry more th an the main topsail, in consequence
of the violence o f the squalls. A t the commencement of this bad weather, the
squalls we re harder and more freq u en t th an towards its termination, and we re accompanied
with rain, hail, and sleet. Towa rds th e close o f it th e g en e ral s tren g th o f th e Mund was in creased,
b u t th e violence of tbe squalls was comparatively moderate, and the intervals longer.
Still these gusts o f wind gave no warning, and indeed d u ring the whole period, e.vcepting in
th e squalls, th ere was a clear blue sky, and ap p a ren tly fine w e ather. From the commencemen
t of these pamperos to their termination we had a reduction of nineteen degrees in the