At Three, More Breakers Appeared, Extending From The Low Isles Towards
The S.E. We Now Hauled Out Close To The Wind, And, In An Hour And A Half,
Were Almost On Board The Breakers, And Obliged To Tack.
From the mast-head
they were seen to extend as far as E.S.E., and the smoothness of the sea
made it probable that they extended to the north of east, and that we were
in a manner surrounded by them.
At this time the hill on the Isle of Pines
bore N. 71 1/2 E., the foreland N. 1/4 W., and the most advanced point of
land on the S.W. coast bore N.W., distant fifteen or sixteen leagues. This
direction of the S.W. coast, which was rather within the parallel of the
N.E., assured us that this land extended no farther to the S.W. After
making a short trip to N.N.E., we stood again to the south, in expectation
of having a better view of the shoals before sun-set. We gained nothing by
this but the prospect of a sea strewed with shoals, which we could not
clear but by returning in the track by which we came. We tacked nearly in
the same place where we had tacked before, and on sounding found a bottom
of fine sand. But anchoring in a strong gale, with a chain of breakers to
leeward, being the last resource, I rather chose to spend the night in
making short boards over that space we had, in some measure, made ourselves
acquainted with in the day:
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