This whole day the evening especialy has been a series of calms and squalls, towards night a thunderstorm in which the lightning was remarkably bright, and rangd in long streaks sometimes horizontal and sometimes perpendicular, the thunder was not loud but continued an immence while with a noise in some claps so like the flapping of sails that had I not been upon dcek I should not have beleivd it to be thunder. Just before the storm we had an appearance of land to the westward which all who had not been in these latitudes before imagind to be real; it made like a long extent of lowish land and two Islands to the Northward of it, the South end was buried in the clouds; this lasted about _ an hour and then rose gradualy up and disapeard.

Lat. 42 : 31. A sea lion was enterd in the log book of today as being seen but I did not see him. I saw however a whale coverd with barnacles as the seamen told me, he appeard of a reddish colour except his tail which was black like those to the Northward. [66]

Voyaging Accounts