50' N. 10 leagues
beyond Swakem, is one of the best in the world.
The entrance is about a
falcon-shot across, and grows narrower inwards, but has 20 fathoms water
in its whole length with a mud bottom; and a quarter of a league within
the land there is a famous watering-place at certain wells, where is the
best water and in greatest plenty of any place on all these coasts. The
19th we sailed at day-light, and advanced 3-1/2 leagues that day, having
many shoals to seaward of us, and the coast for these 3-1/2 leagues
trended N. and S. On the 20th at sunrise the wind blew from the N. and
the sea was rough, for which reason we had to seek shelter within the
shoal, entering by a very narrow and difficult channel. After we were
in, the wind came N.N.E. and we remained all day at anchor. The 21st we
left the shoal with fine weather, the wind being at W.N.W. and sailed N.
keeping about half a league from the land; and an hour after sunrise we
came to a long and fair point of land called by Ptolomy the promontory
of Diogenes. On the north side of this point is a large fine bay named
Doroo, and at the extremity of this long bare point there is a large
round tower like a pillar. At the entrance of this harbour or channel
there are six fathoms water, which diminishes gradually inwards to
three.
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