We
Then, Went W.N.W. Having Always Ooze, Till We Were Within Two Leagues Of
The Sumatra Shore In
6 f. The isle of Lucepara bore then E.S.E. 3-1/2
leagues off; and a hill on
Banka with a deep swamp, N. by W. being about
a sail's breadth open of the point of Sumatra, which bore N. by W. 1/2
W. from us, about three leagues off. We steered thence away with the
said point N. by W. Having 6-1/2 and 7 f. soft ground, till we came
within a league of the point, where edging too near we had but 5-1/2,
and only 4-1/2 in the boat hard by us: But, if we had kept a little
farther from the point, we might have gone in 7, 8, 9, and 10 f. all
through the strait, borrowing carefully with the lead upon the Sumatra
shore; whereas by keeping nearer to Banka than Sumatra, the soundings
are very variable, sometimes deep, and sometimes shallow, and mostly
foul ground. On the Sumatra shore, even if coming into shoal water, the
ground is mostly soft ooze, and the soundings far more regular and
certain.
In the evening of the 12th May, having brought the N.W. point of Banka
to bear N.E. we opened two smooth hills with a little hummock between
them; one of these hills being the northermost land of Banka, and
bearing N.E. nine leagues, from the N.W. point of that island.
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