The Tides are perhaps as inconsiderable in these Seas as in any part of the world, a South or SBW [Moon] makes High-water in Royal Bay, but the water doth not rise upon a perpendicular above 10 or 12 inches except on some very extraordinary occasions — The Variation of' the Compass I found to be 4°..46' Easterly, this being the mean result of a great number of trials made by four of D^r Knights needles belonging to the Azimuth Compasses, all of which I judged to be good ones and yet when applied to the Meridion line I found them not only differ one from a nother sometimes a degree and a half but the same needle would differ from it self more or less the difference sometimes a mountaning to half a degree both at the same time and on different days, this will in a great measure account for the seeming errors that upon a nice examination appears to have been made in observing the Variation, inserted in the Course of this Journal - This Variableness in Magnetick needles I have many times and in many places expieranced both on a shore and on board of Ships and I do not remember of ever finding two needles that would agree exactly together at one

Voyaging Accounts