At seven the next morning, we took the Swallow again in tow, but was again obliged to cast her off and tack, as the weather became very thick, with a great swell, and we saw land close under our lee. As no place for anchorage could be found, Captain Carteret advised me to bear away for Upright bay, to which I consented; and as he was acquainted with the place, he went a-head: the boats were ordered to go between him and the shore, and we followed. At eleven o’clock, there being little wind, we opened a large lagoon, and a current setting strongly into it, the Swallow was driven among the breakers close upon the lee shore: to aggravate the misfortune, the weather was very hazey, there was no anchorage, and the surf ran very high. In this dreadful situation she made signals of distress, and we immediately sent our launch, and other boats, to her assistance: the boats took her in tow, but their utmost efforts to save her would have been ineffectual, if a breeze had not suddenly come down from a mountain, and wafted her off.

As a great swell came on about noon, we hauled over to the north shore. We soon found ourselves surrounded with islands, but the fog was so thick, that we knew not where we were, nor which way to steer. Among these islands the boats were sent to cast the lead, but no anchorage was to be found; we then conjectured that we were in the bay of islands, and that we had no chance to escape shipwreck, but by hauling directly out: this, however, was no easy task, for I was obliged to tack, almost continually, to weather some island or rock. At four o’clock in the afternoon, it happily cleared up for a minute, just to shew us Cape Upright,

Voyaging Accounts