Tinian and the Run to Batavia
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We continued our course, often sounding, but finding no bottom. On the 7th, we passed through several ripplings of a current, and saw great quantities of drift-wood, cocoa-nut leaves, things like cones of firs, and weed, which swam in a stream N.E. and S.W. We had now soundings at sixty-five fathom, with brown sand, small shells, and stones; and at noon, found the ship again to the northward of her reckoning ten miles, and had decreased our soundings to twenty-eight fathom, with the same ground. Our latitude was 8° 36’ N. longitude 253° W. At two o’clock, we saw the island of Condore, from the mast-head, bearing W. ½ N. At four, we had ground with twenty fathom; the island bearing from W. to N.W. by W. distant about thirteen leagues, and having the appearance of high hummocks. The latitude of this island is 8° 40’ N.; longitude, by our reckoning, 254° 15’.
We now altered our course; and the next morning, I took from the petty officers and seamen, all the log and journal books relative to the voyage.
On the 10th, being in latitude 5° 20’ N. longitude 255° W. we found a current setting four fathom an hour S. by W.; and during our course to the islands Timoun, Aros, and Pesang, which we saw about six in the afternoon of the 13th, we were every day from ten to twenty miles southward of our reckoning.
On the 16th, at ten in the morning, we crossed the line again into South latitude, in longitude 255°; and soon after we saw two islands, one bearing S. by E. distant five leagues, the other S. by W. distant seven leagues.
The next morning, the weather became very dark and tempestuous, with heavy rain; we therefore clewed all up,
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Voyaging Accounts |  |
© Derived from Volume I of the London 1773 Edition: National Library of Australia call no. FERG 7243, page 504, 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/hv01/507.html