Streight of Magellan into the South Seas
Index
Search
Contact us
at the distance of about three leagues. The south shore in this place had a very bad appearance, many sunken rocks lying about it to a considerable distance, upon which the sea breaks very high. At four the weather became very thick, and in less than half an hour we saw the south shore at the distance of about a mile, but could get no anchoring-place; we therefore tacked, and stood over to the north shore. At half an hour after six I made the Tamar’s signal to come under our stern, and ordered her to keep ahead of us all night, and to show lights, and fire a gun every time she changed her tack. At seven, it cleared up for a moment just to show us the north shore, bearing W. by N.; we tacked immediately, and at eight the wind shifted from N.N.W. to W.N.W. and blew with great violence. Our situation was now very alarming; the storm increased every minute, the weather was extremely thick, the rain seemed to threaten another deluge, we had a long dark night before us, we were in a narrow channel, and surrounded on every side by rocks and breakers. We attempted to clew up the mizen-topsail, but before this service could be done it was blown all to rags: we then brought to, with the main and fore-topsail close reefed, and upon the cap, keeping the ship’s head to the south west; but there being a prodigious sea, it broke over us so often that the whole deck was almost continually under water. At nine, by an accidental breaking of the fog, we saw the high Cape on the north shore that has been just mentioned, bearing east, at about a mile distance, but had entirely lost sight of the Tamar. At half an hour after three in the morning, we suddenly perceived ourselves close to a high land on the south shore, upon which we wore, and brought to to the northward. The gale still continued, if possible, with increasing violence, and the rain poured down in torrents, so that we were, in a manner, immersed in water,
 |
Voyaging Accounts |  |
© Derived from Volume I of the London 1773 Edition: National Library of Australia call no. FERG 7243, page 76, 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/hv01/112.html