Fearing To Run, In Thick Weather, Into A Place To Which We Were All
Strangers, And Seeing Some Breakers And
Broken ground a-head, I tacked in
twenty-five fathom water, and stood out to sea with the wind at
N.W. This
bay lies on the S.E. side of Cape West, and may be known by a white cliff
on one of the isles which lies in the entrance of the bay. This part of the
coast I did not see, but at a great distance, in my former voyage; and we
now saw it under so many disadvantageous circumstances, that the less I say
about it, the fewer mistakes I shall make. We stood out to sea, under
close-reefed top-sails and courses, till eleven o'clock at night; when we
wore and stood to the northward, having a very high and irregular sea. At
five o'clock next morning, the gale abated, and we bore up for the land; at
eight o'clock, the West Cape bore E. by N. 1/2 N., for which we steered,
and entered Dusky Bay about noon. In the entrance of it, we found 44
fathoms water, a sandy bottom, the West Cape bearing S.S.E., and Five
Fingers Point, or the north point of the bay, north. Here we had a great
swell rolling in from the S.W. The depth of water decreased to 40 fathoms,
afterwards we had no ground with 60. We were, however, too far advanced to
return; and therefore stood on, not doubting but that we should find
anchorage. For in this bay we were all strangers; in my former voyage,
having done no more than discover and name it.
After running about two leagues up the bay, and passing several of the
isles which lay in it, I brought-to, and hoisted out two boats; one of
which I sent away with an officer round a point on the larboard hand to
look for anchorage. This he found, and signified the same by signal. We
then followed with the ship, and anchored in 50 fathoms water, so near the
shore as to reach it with an hawser. This was on Friday the 26th of March,
at three in the afternoon, after having been 117 days at sea; in which time
we had sailed 3600 leagues, without having once sight of land.
After such a long continuance at sea, in a high southern latitude, it is
but reasonable to think that many of my people must be ill of the scurvy.
The contrary, however, happened. Mention hath already been made of sweet
wort being given to such as were scorbutic. This had so far the desired
effect, that we had only one man on board that could be called very ill of
this disease; occasioned chiefly, by a bad habit of body, and a
complication of other disorders. We did not attribute the general good
state of health in the crew, wholly to the sweet wort, but to the frequent
airing and sweetening the ship by fires, &c. We must also allow portable
broth, and sour krout, to have had some share in it.
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