17 May 1770

James Cook's Journal: Daily Entries

Table of Contents On this day ... 17 May 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...

17 May 1770 Thursday 17th Winds southerly mostly a fresh breeze with which ^in the PM we steer'd along shore N3/4E at the distance of about 2 Leagues off. Between 4 and 5 we discoverd breakers on our larboord bow   our depth of water at this time was 37 fathom - At sun set the northermost land in sight bore NBW, the breakers NWBW distant 4 Miles and the northermost land set at noon   which form'd a point which I nam'd Point lookout bore west ^distant 5 or 6 Miles / Latitude 278° 6' / Longitude 20°  '      to ^On the northward side of this point the shore forms a wide open Bay ^which I have named Morton bay in the bottom of which the land is so low that I could but just see it from the ^top mast head.   the breakers I have mentioned lies about 3 or 4 Miles from Point Lookout,  at this time we had a great sea from the south ward which broke prodigious high upon them. Stood on NNE untill 8 oClock when being past the breakers and having depen'd our water to 52 fathom we brought too untill 12 oClock than made sail again to the NNE at 4 in the AM we sounded and 135 fm At day light I found that we had in the night got much farther to the northward and from the shore than I expected from the Course we steerd for we were at least 6 or 7 Leagues ^off from the land and therefore haul'd in NWBW having the advantage of a Fresh Gale at SSW, the northermost land seen last night bore from us at this time SSW distant 6 Leagues ^This land I named C. Morton it being the N Point of the Bay of the Bay of the of the Bay of the the same name / Latde 26° 56' / Longd 206° 28' / From C. Morton the Land trends away west farther than we could see for there is ^a small space where we could see no land some on board was of opinion that there is a River there because the Sea lookd p^aler than usual, upon sounding we found but 34 fathom water a fine white sandy bottom which a lone is sufficeint [to] change the apparant colour of sea water without the assistance of Rivers   the land need only have to be a[s] low here as it is in a thousand other places upon the coast to have made it impossible for us to have seen it at the distance we were off.   be this as it may it was a point that could not be clear'd up as we had the wind, but should any one be desirous of do[ing] it that may come after me this place may always be found by three hills which lay to the northward ^of it in the Latitude of 26°..53' So   these hills lay but a little way inland and not far from each other, they are very remarkable on account of there singlar form of elivation which very much resemble glass houses which occasioned my giving them that name,   the northermost of the three is the highest and largest, there are likewise several other peaked hills inland to the northward of these but they are not near so remarkable — At Noon we were by Obsn in the Latitude of 26°..28' So which was 10 Miles to the northward of the log a circumstance that hath not hapend sence we have been upon the coast before   our course and distance run sence yesterday noon was NBW, 80 Miles which brought us into the Longde of 206°..46   At this time we were about 2 or 3 Leagues from the land and ^in 24 fathom water - A low bluff point which was the south point of an open sandy bay bore N 62° Wt distant 3 Leagues and the northermost point of land in sight bore N1/4E — Several smooks Seen today and some pretty far inland — Voyaging Accounts © Transcription by Paul Turnbull of National Library of Australia, Manuscript 1 page 237, 2004 Published by kind permission of the Library To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/cook/17700517.html