The Twelfth Day, Being Over Against Gravesend, By The Castle Or
Blockhouse, We Observed The Latitude, Which Was 51 Degrees 33
Minutes, And In That Place The Variation Of The Compass Is 11
Degrees And A Half.
This day we departed from Gravesend at a west-
south-west sun, the wind at north and by east
A fair gale, and
sailed to the west part of Tilbury Hope, and so turned down the
Hope, and at a west sun the wind came to the east-south-east, and we
anchored in seven fathoms, being low water.
[Here there follows an abstract of the ship's log, showing the
navigation until the 28th of July, when they had sight of land
supposed to be Labrador.]
July 28th. From 4 to 8, 4 leagues: from 8. to 12, 3 leagues: from
12 to 4, north and by west, 6 leagues, but very foggy; from thence
to 8 of the clock in the morning little wind, but at the clearing up
of the fog we had sight of land, which I supposed to be Labrador,
with great store of ice about the land; I ran in towards it, and
sounded, but could get no land at 100 fathoms, and the ice being so
thick I could not get to the shore, and so lay off and came clear of
the ice. Upon Monday we came within a mile of the shore, and sought
a harbour; all the sound was full of ice, and our boat rowing ashore
could get no ground at 100 fathom, within a cable's length of the
shore; then we sailed east-north-east along the shore, for so the
land lieth, and the current is there great, setting north-east and
south-west; and if we could have gotten anchor ground we would have
seen with what force it had run, but I judge a ship may drive a
league and a half in one hour with that tide.
This day, at four of the clock in the morning, being fair and clear,
we had sight of a headland as we judged bearing from us north and by
east, and we sailed north-east and by north to that land, and when
we came thither we could not get to the land for ice, for the ice
stretched along the coast, so that we could not come to the land by
5 leagues.
Wednesday, the first of August, it calmed, and in the afternoon I
caused my boat to be hoisted out, being hard by a great island of
ice, and I and four men rowed to that ice, and sounded within two
cables' length of it, and had 16 fathoms and little stones, and
after that sounded again within a minion's shot, and had ground at
100 fathoms, and fair sand. We sounded the next day a quarter of a
mile from it, and had 60 fathoms rough ground, and at that present
being aboard, that great island of ice fell one part from another,
making a noise as if a great cliff had fallen into the sea.
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