The country about this place has the most dreary forlorn appearance that can be imagined; the mountains on each side the Streight are of an immense height: about one fourth of the ascent is covered with trees of a considerable size; in the space from thence to the middle of the mountain there is nothing but withered shrubs; above these are patches of snow, and fragments of broken rock; and the summit is altogether rude and naked, towering above the clouds in vast crags that are piled upon each other, and look like the ruins of Nature devoted to everlasting sterility and desolation.

We went over in two boats to the Royal Islands, and sounded, but found no bottom: a very rapid tide set through wherever there was an opening; and they cannot be approached

by shipping without the most imminent danger. Whoever navigates this part of the Streight, should keep the north shore close on board all the way, and not venture more than a mile from it till the Royal Islands are passed. The current sets easterly through the whole four and twenty hours, and the in draught should by all means be avoided. The latitude of Cape Gallant road is 53° 50’ S.

We continued in this station, taking in wood and water, and gathering muscles and herbs, till the morning of the 27th, when a boat that had been sent to try the current, returned with an account that it set nearly at the rate of two miles an hour, but that the wind being northerly, we might probably get round to Elizabeth bay or York road before night; we therefore weighed with all expedition. At noon on the 28th, the west point of Cape Gallant bore W.N.W.

Voyaging Accounts