From Noon Until 40 Minutes Past 1 P.M. Stretching Across The Flats
Of This Arm, Sounding From 9 Feet
To 3 1/4 fathoms, where we anchored.
Immediately moored with the kedge which in a little time she brought
Home, moored with the bowers per cable one way and 25 fathoms the other,
found the tide of ebb to run at 4 P.M. 5 knots and 6 fathoms. At 5 P.M.
we began to touch the ground and perceived that our main keel was gone,
part of it coming up alongside. Sent some of the people out to look in
what situation our anchor lay and it was found that the best bower had
come home and the small parted 12 fathoms from the ring. I conclude the
ragged part of the main keel must have done it when she swung in ground,
we tried in vain with 10 or 11 hands to lift it out of its bed. As the
whole of this part of the flats are quicksands with a strong suction,
bent a good warp to its crown to weigh it by when the tide rose. At
half-past 1 A.M. the flood came to us with much noise and about a foot
high, in 15 minutes we floated and hove up to our best bower. By 5 A.M.
began again to ground, by 6 A.M. fast: at half-past 7 A.M. Captain
Flinders went in his boat in search of deeper water and found one place
nearer inshore where he thought it advisable to shift the Lady Nelson to,
when the tide would permit.
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