21 April 1770

James Cook's Journal: Daily Entries

Table of Contents On this day ... 21 April 1770 Endeavour Voyage Maps James Cook's Journal Ms 1, National Library of Australia Joseph Banks's Journal Sydney Parkinson's Journal The authorised published account of Cook's Voyage by John Hawkesworth 1770 Index Search Contact us Search for Nautical Term in Falconer's Dictionary of the Marine...

21 April 1770 Saturday 21st Winds Southerly a gentle breeze and clear weather with which we coasted along shore to the northward. In the PM we saw the smook of fire in several places a certain sign that the Country is inhabited - At 6 oClock being about 2 or 3 Leagues from the land we shortned sail and sounded and found 44 fathom water a sandy bottom; stood on under an easy sail untill 12 oClock at which time we brought too untill 4 AM when we made sail again having than 90 fathom water ^5 Leagues from the land At 6 oClock we were a breast of a pretty high mountain laying near the shore which on account of its figure I named Mount Dromedary Latde 36°..18' So Longde 209°..55' Wt / The shore under the foot of this Mountain forms a point which I have named Cape Dromedary over which is a peaked hillick    At this time found the Variation ^to be 10°.42' Et Between 10 and 11 oClock Mr Green and I took several observations of the Sun and Moon the mean result of which gave 209°..17' West Longitude from the Meridion of Greenwich. By observations made yesterday we were in the Longitude 210°..9' - 20' gives 209°..49' the Longitude of the Ship to day at noon per yesterdays observations, the mean of which and to days gives 209°..33' Wt by which I fix the Longitude of this Coast - our Latitude at Noon was 35°..49' So Cape Dromedary bore So 30° Wt distt 12 Leagues - an open Bay wherein lay three or 4 small Islands bore NWBW distant 4 ^5 or 6 Leagues   this Bay seem'd to be but very little shelterd from the sea winds and yet it is the only likely anchoring place I have yet seen upon the Coast Voyaging Accounts © Transcription by Paul Turnbull of National Library of Australia, Manuscript 1 page 225, 2004 Published by kind permission of the Library To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/cook/17700421.html