At six o’clock the next morning, we weighed, and worked with the tide, which set the same as the day before, but we could not gain an anchoring-place, so that at noon we bore away for York Road again. I took this opportunity to go up Bachelor’s River in my jolly boat, as high as I could, which was about four miles: in some places I found it very wide and deep, and the water was good, but near the mouth it is so shallow at low water, that even a small boat cannot get into it.

At six o’clock on the 5th, we weighed again, and at eight, it being stark calm, we sent the boats a-head to tow; at eleven, however, the tide set so strong from the westward, that we could not gain the bay on the north shore, which the boat had found for us on the 4th, and which was an excellent harbour, fit to receive five or six sail: we were therefore obliged to anchor upon a bank, in forty-five fathom, with the stream anchor, Cape Quod bearing W.S.W. distant five or six miles, the south point of the island that lies to the east of the Cape, being just in one with the pitch of it, and a remarkable stone patch on the north shore bearing N. ½ W. distant half a mile. Close to the shore here, the depth of water was seventy-five fathom. As soon as we were at anchor,

Voyaging Accounts