With God's Help, A
Man May Go In Without Danger, Keeping Near The Before-Mentioned Island.
It Is Somewhat Shallow On The Starboard Side Of The Narrow Passage, But
That Will Shew Itself.
There are two small islands, Pulo-way and
Pulo-rin, about three leagues west of this entrance, but there is no
danger about them that is not quite obvious; and you may leave these
islands on either side you find convenient, either in going in or out.
At this place we found the wind variable about the middle of March, and
it so continued till about the middle of April; when it became
stationary between E. and S.E. four months to our knowledge: But, as the
people of the country say, it continues so for five mouths; and likewise
five months between W. and N.W. the other two months being variable. In
the dark moons, they have here much gusty weather with rains. We staid
here twenty-one weeks and six days, in which time eleven of our men
died, mostly of the flux.
We sailed from Banda the 21st July, 1605, having the wind at E.S.E. and
stood to the westwards. The 22d we fell in with the south end of
Bourro. The 27th we fell in with Deselem, and then came about to the
south end of the island, leaving seven islands to starboard. We then
stood close by the wind to the northward, hard by the main island of
Deselem, to clear ourselves of a small island, and a shoal off the S.W.
part of Deselem; then, leaving this island, and all the other shoals on
our larboard side, we stood N.N.W. along the W. side of Deselem, till we
came into the latitude of 6 deg. 10' S. Then steered 18 leagues west, and
fell in with the shoal off the S.W. point of Celebes, the very southmost
part of which is in lat. 6 deg. S. [only 5 deg. 45',] and being clear of that, we
steered westwards, coming to anchor in Bantam roads on the 16th August.
We set sail from Bantam on the 6th October, the Dragon and Ascension in
company. The 15th November, we were in lat. 31 deg. 48' S. the wind W.N.W.
thick foggy weather, when about 10 a.m. we came within our ship's length
of a rock or sunken island, on which the water appeared very brown and
muddy, and in some places very blue. When a ship's breadth or two to the
north of it, the water by the ship's side was very black and thick, as
though it had earth or coarse sand boiling up from the bottom. The
variation here was 21 degrees westerly. The 16th December, in lat. 34 deg.
20' S. we had sight of the land of Ethiopia, [Africa] about 12 leagues
from us. The 26th, being in lat. 34 deg. 30' S. and within one league of the
Cape of Good Hope, we steered N.W. and N.N.W. and N. going round the
Cape.
The 27th we came to anchor in Saldanha bay, where we found our admiral
and the Hector. Our admiral had fallen in with that ship seven days
before, driving up and down at sea, about four leagues from the Cape of
Good Hope, having only ten men in her; all the rest, to the number of
53, having died since leaving Bantam nine months before. Being in great
distress, three months after leaving Bantam, she lost company with the
Susan, which ship was never heard of afterwards. We came to anchor at
Saldanha bay in seven fathoms water, having the low point going in N.W.
by W. the sugar-loaf S.W. half W. the point of the breach of the Penguin
island N.W. by N. the hill between the sugar-loaf and the low point,
W.S.W. and the peak of the hill to the eastward of the Table S. by E.
In the morning of the 16th January, 1606, we sailed from Saldanha bay,
going to the northward of Penguin island, between it and the main. We
sounded when we had the land south from us about a mile and a half, and
had ground at 20 fathoms, white coral and broken shells. On clearing
the island, we stood W. by S. and W.S.W. till we brought the island to
bear S.E. by E. being now about six in the evening, when we saw the
Hector coming out by the south side of the island, having left her at
anchor when we weighed. The wind being at S. we stood all night
westwards, and in the morning had lost company with the Hector, when we
steered N.W. with little sail till noon, thinking to get sight of the
Hector, but could not. The 1st February, in lat. 16 deg. 20' S. we had sight
of St Helena, 12 or 13 leagues N.W. The 2d, having the wind at S.E. we
lay off and on east of the island most part of the night, and in the
following morning we stood to the north of the island, coming to anchor
about noon in the road of St Helena, in 20 fathoms, on blackish gravelly
sand. We had a point of land to the N.E. a sharp hill like a sugar-loaf,
with a cross upon it, N.E. by E. the church in the valley S.E. In this
valley there are many trees, the high land S.E. from the church, and the
entire valley being full of trees. We moored S.E. and N.W. the anchor in
the offing being in 21 fathoms.
At night of the 3d, we had sight of the Hector coming round the south
end of the island, but she could not fetch into the road, yet stood to
the northward as near as she could, having the wind at east.
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