Passage through the Streight of Magellan
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HAVING cleared the Streight, we steered a western course. But before I continue the narrative of our voyage, I shall give a more particular account of the several places where we anchored, plans of which are deposited in the Admiralty Office for the use of future navigators, with the shoals and rocks that lie near them, the latitude, longitude, tides, and variation of the compass.
I. CAPE VIRGIN MARY. The bay under this Cape is a good harbour, when the wind is westerly. There is a shoal lying off the Cape, but that may easily be known by the rock weed that grows upon it: the Cape is a steep white cliff, not unlike the South Foreland. Its latitude, by observation, is 52° 24’S. and its longitude, by account, 68° 22’W. The variation of the needle, by the medium of five azimuths and one amplitude, was 24° 30’E. In this place we saw no appearance either of wood or water. We anchored in I0 fathom, with coarse sandy ground, about a mile from the shore, Cape Virgin Mary bearing N. by W. ½ W. distant about two miles, and Dungeness Point S.S.W. distant four miles. We anchored here on the 17th of December, and sailed the next day. There is good landing, on a fine sandy beach, all along the shore.
II. POSSESSION BAY. In sailing into this bay, it is necessary to give the point a good birth, because there is a reef
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Voyaging Accounts |  |
© Derived from Volume I of the London 1773 Edition: National Library of Australia call no. FERG 7243, page 410, 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/hv01/410.html