The 17th, A Vessel Came Over
From Mokha, In Which Was Tocorsi And Another Banian, Bringing With Them
The Provisions
I had desired them to buy for us, and the money they owed
me; but as for the writing confirming
The peace, they made excuse that
the pacha was so much occupied in war that he could not get it attended
to; which was a manifest warning that they would give no quarter to our
nation. Wherefore, on the 24th, we sailed from Assab, plying to windward
as far as Kamaran, to wait the arrival of a large ship, which comes
yearly from Sues to Mokha richly laden, hoping by her means to be amply
revenged for all the losses and disgraces I had incurred from the Turks;
and I the more anxiously wished to meet with her, as I understood the
two traitors, Jaffer pacha and Regib aga, had both great adventures in
that ship. From the 24th therefore to 31st July we plyed to windward for
this purpose, sailing by day and anchoring all night, in which period we
narrowly escaped many dangers, being in want of a pilot, being many
times in imminent danger of running aground, to the hazard and loss of
all, had not God preserved us. But the ship of Sues escaped us in the
night, as we found on our return towards the south.
Sec. 5. Voyage from the Red Sea to Surat, and Transactions there.
We set sail from the neighbourhood of Mokha in the morning of the 9th
August, 1611, and in the evening cast anchor three leagues short of the
straits of Bab-al-Mondub. The 10th, the Darling and Release[338] went
out by the western passage, which they found to be three leagues over,
from the main land of Habesh to the island Bab-Mandel, [Prin.] One
third of the way over from the island they had no ground at forty
fathoms, the channel being quite clear and free from danger, though the
Turks and Indians reported it was full of rocks and shoals, and not
navigable for ships. We in the Increase, accompanied by the
Pepper-corn, went out by the eastern narrow channel at which we came in,
which does not exceed a mile and half between the island and the Arabian
shore, of which a considerable distance from the main is encumbered with
shoals. We all met outside of the straits in the afternoon, in nineteen
fathoms water, about four miles from the Arabian shore. From the 12th to
the 27th, we were much pestered with contrary winds, calms, and a strong
adverse current, setting to the S.W. at the rate of four miles an hour.
The 27th, we had a favouring gale to carry us off, and by six p.m. had
sight of Mount Felix, [Baba Feluk,] a head-land to the west of Cape
Guardafui. The 30th, we came to anchor in the road of Delisha, on the
northern coast of Socotora. We found there a great ship of Diu and two
smaller, bound for the Red Sea, but taken short by the change of the
monsoon. The captain of the great ship with several others came aboard
me, and assured me our people at Surat were well, being in daily
expectation of ships from India, and that Captain Hawkins was at the
court of the Great Mogul, where he was made a great lord, and had a high
allowance from the king. They said likewise, that the king had given
Captain Sharpey money to build a ship, which was nearly ready for
launching at Surat. This and many other things he told me seemed too
good news to be true.
[Footnote 338: This must be the pinnace which was set up at Mokha, so
named in memory of their release from that place. - E.]
As the monsoon was far spent, I requested the nokhada of Diu to aid me
with his boats and people in procuring water and ballast, which he and
the others willingly did, offering me all the water in their ship, and
employing their people to bring me more from the shore, so anxious were
they to get me away. It was long before I could bargain with the king
for his aloes, but at last I got it, paying higher than Captain Keeling
had done; for I think the Indians were in hand with him for it, which
made him enhance the price. I left letters with the king, which he
promised to deliver to the first English ship that came there. Having
finished all my business, I had much ado to get a simple fellow from the
ship of Diu to pilot me on the coast of India, who pretended to be a
good coaster. We set sail from Delisha on the 3d September, with a
favourable wind, which brought us by the 26th into the road of Surat,
where we came to anchor in seven fathoms near three India ships. A mile
from us rode at anchor seven sail of Portuguese frigates or men of war,
there being thirteen more of them within the river of Surat.[339]
[Footnote 339: These twenty Portuguese frigates, as then called, were
only barks, grabs, or praws of the country, armed with small guns. - E.]
Long before our arrival, the Portuguese had intelligence that we were in
the Red Sea, and bound for Surat, so that these frigates were sent
purposely to prevent us from trading at Surat, or any other place on
that coast. Don Francisco de Soto-major was captain-major of this
flotilla, being what is called captain-major of the north, and reaped
great profit from granting cartasses, or passports, to all ships and
barks trading on that coast, all being confiscated that presumed to
navigate without his licence. I discharged my pilots that night, paying
them well, and sent by them a letter to such Englishmen as might be in
Surat, as I could not learn how many or who were there resident.
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