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tem p e r a tu r e o f th e a i r , a u d o f f if te e n in th e s u r f a c e o f th e se a . T h e r em a rk s o f C a p ta in
H e y w o o d in C a p ta in H o r s b u r g ’s “ D i r e c to r y , ” a v a lu a b le b o o k , a n d u^ell k n ow n in th e n a v y ,
w i l l b e fo u n d v e ry u s e fu l in a n t ic ip a t in g th e s e sq u a lls .
T o these pamperos succeeded a calm, th en lig h t and moderate breezes from N. W .,
E . N. E., N., E . N. E ., S .W ., S. E .,w ith cloudy we ather, u n til in latitude 48" S. and longitu
d e 54" W ., when we fell in with a AV. N. W . wind, which the n e x t day carried us into
soundings oft the F alkland Islands. As we ne a red the land, th e wind died away. T h e
barome ter was low, standing a t 2 8 ‘6, and th e weather was misty, with drizzling rain a t
times. A bout one o’clock p. M. on th e 9th September, th e mist began to disperse, and a
b rig h t yellow sky was seen u n d e r an arch to the S .W ., th e win d a t th e same time inclined
th a t w a y ; and in less than an hour we were un d er close-reefed topsails and storm stay sails.
T h is gale lasted about eighteen hours, and th en vee red to AV. by N. an d AV., with
whicli we advanced to th e parallel of Cape St. John. H e re we encountered s trong S. VV.
winds with long heavy seas, and s tretched to th e southward to 58° 02' S., re g re ttin g th a t we
had n o t passed inside the Falkland Islands, as in th a t case we should have been n ea rly a day’s
ru n fu rth e r to th e westward before we encountered these adverse winds. Afte r two days
th e wind veered to S. S.AVA and blew bard, b u t the sea was n o t iiigh. \A''e now stood to the
N . AA an d on the 17th in latitu d e 56« 2 1 ' S . an d longitude 61® 5 T AV., had a few hours’
calm. T h is was succeeded by a breeze from th e southward, which continued moderate with
fine we ather and a smooth sea ; and the n e x t day, having carried us one h undred and twenty-
th re e miles, we made Cape H o rn , fourteen miles distant on the lee-beam, b ea ring N. 2« AV.,
t ru e ; th e wind still from th e southward.
Between Cape Ho rn and D ieg o Ramirez we had soundings with forty-five fathoms
rock, and s ix ty fathoms san d ; and afterwards from e ig hty-four to s ix ty fathoms gravel,
coarse and fine sand, and some coral. T h a t n ig h t we passed to th e northwa rd o f Diego
Ramirez a t n in e miles distant, n o t having less than sixty-six fathoms on a bottom of
coarse sand. T h e following m o rning th e island o f Ildefonso bore N. 5« AV., tru e, nine
miles, and we had seventy-three fathoms fine san d ; and a t noon Yorkminster, a t the entran
c e of Christmas Sound, bore N. 37° E ., tru e, nineteen miles, eighty-two fathoms coral
an d stones. N o t liking to range the shore of T ie rra del F u eg o so close d u ring the n ig h t with a
so u th erly w ind, we ta c k e d ; and with the wind still a t S. S. AAA stood for th irty -s ix hours to the
S. E . in to th e meridian of D ieg o R am ire z ; and when thirty-six miles S. of it, we again k ep t
AV. by S., with th e wind a t S. by AV. AVe stood on, and had lig h t winds, fine weather, and
a smooth sea u n til the 24th, when there was a calm for twelve hours, with a little swell from
N .E . O n th e 2 5 th early, we g o t a north-e asterly wind, which commenced with fine weather
an d smooth w a te r; and a t noon, on the 26th, ca rried us to the 7 9 th meridian and 5Sd parallel
o f latitude, when we considered ourselves round th e H orn. In this situation we were one
liundred and fo rty-three miles due west o f Cape P illa r; having numbered exactly fourteen
days from th e time a t which we were a hundred miles due east o f S taten Lan d . AVe passed
Cape Ho rn on one Sunday, and on th e following crossed th e meridian of Cape P illar. Our
g re a te st south latitu d e in th e whole passage was 58° 02' S. T h e gales o f wind which we
expe rienc ed were a tten d e d with a long swell, th a t by no means strained the sliip, and we
did not see a partic le o f floating ice.
H a v in g reached the meridian of82"AV., th ere appears to be no difficulty in m ak in g the
remainder o fth e passage to Conception or Valparaiso. In high latitudes the prevailing w inds
a re from AV. N. AV. to S. VV., which are, a t worst, leading winds. In latitude 44° 16' S . and
longitude 78« 36' AV.we g o t S. E . winds which, with a few hours’ intermission of wind from
N. E. by E ., b ro u g h t us to Conception on th e ten th day from that on which we considered
ourselves fairly round th e H orn. Some officers are of opinion that n ea r th e coast o f Chiloe
moderate we ather and southerly winds are more p re v a len t than in the offing, which I think
highly p ro b a b le ; and if, after re aching the S ls t meridian, th e winds came from N. AA'^., I should
c e rtainly p re fer the in-shore track to s tre tc h in g again to the S. AV.
AVith r e g a rd to th e b e s t t im e o f th e y e a r fo r ro u n d in g C a p e H o r n , th e r e is a g r e a t d iff
e r e n c e o f o p in io n , as in th e s am e m o n th s b o th g o o d a n d b a d p a s s a g e s h a v e b e e n m a d e ;
b u t I s h o u ld c e r ta in ly n o t s e le c t th e w in te r tim e i f I h a d m y ch o ic e . I n d e p e n d e n t o f th e
co ld , w h ic h , d u r in g g a le s o f w in d , is s e v e r e ly f e l t b y a sh ip ’s c om p a n y n e c e s s a r ily w e t a n d
e x p o s e d , a n d th e p ro b a b ility o f m e e t in g w i th f lo a tin g is la n d s o f ic e , s u r e ly th e lo n g n ig h ts ,
a s C a p ta in H a l l h a s ju s t l y o b s e rv e d , m u s t a u g m e n t in a s e r io u s d e g r e e th e d iffic u ltie s o f th e
n a v ig a tio n .
From the passage o f tbe Blossom, a preference might be given to the month o f Septemb
e r ; b u t ill th e very same month Captain Falcon in th eT y n e bad a very long and boisterous
passage. I concur in opinion with Conk, Ferouse , Krusenstern, and others, in th in k in g there
is no necessity whatever for g o in g far to the southward, and I should recommend always
standing on that tack which gained most longitude, without pay in g any regard to latitude,
fu rth e r than tak in g care to k eep south (say a d egree) of Cape H orn. W ith a N. AV. wind I
would stand S. W ., and with a S. W . wind N. AV., and so on. I f th ere was a doubt, I should
give th e preference to th e southern tack, unless far advanced in th a t direction. W e did not
find th e s trongest winds n ea r the land, b u t on the c o n tra ry ; and I am of opinion th a t here, as
is the case in many other places, they do n o t blow home, and th a t within th irty miles of the
land the sea is p artly broken by the inequa lity of the bottom. T h e re is, however, g re a t objec
tion to nea rin g th e land eastward of Cape Horn, in consequence of th e velocity with which
th e cu rren t sets through S tra it L e Maire, particularly w ith a southerly wind. T h is does not
obtain to the westward of D ieg o Ramirez , in which direction I see no objection to approachin
g the coast within forty or s ix ty miles. Cook ranged tliis shore very close in De cembe r,
and on more than one occasion found the cu rren t se ttin g off shore, and a t otlier times slowly
along it to the S. E.
I n the first p a rt of this passage the currents rati to the N. AV., b u t afte r passing the
latitude of 40” S. th ey set to the eastward ; and when we arrived off Cape Ho rn the ship w;is
S. 40° E . 116 miles of her reckoning.
While wc were in the neighbourhood o f Diego Ramirez th ere was little or no current,
but to the westward it ran to the AA'’. N. AV. I t however soon afte r changed, and on our
arrivid off Conception the wliole amount o f cu rren t was N. 49 ’E . 147 miles. In rounding
T e r ra del F uego with a southerly wind full four points must be allowed for variation and cur-
re n t. Eor in this liigh latitude there will, in most ships, be found ten or twelve degrees more
variation with the head w est than e a st; and though the true variation be b u t 24° E ., a t least
29" or 3U° must be allowed going westward.