Cape Pillar to Masasuero
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At day-break, though we were at a good distance from the shore, I sent the cutter to get off a load of water, before the surf should be so great upon the beach as to prevent her landing. About ten o'clock, the wind came to the N.N.E. which enabled us to get within a little distance of the watering-place, and we might have recovered our anchoring ground upon the bank from which we had been driven, but the weather had so bad an appearance, and the gale freshened so fast, that we did not think it prudent to venture: we brought to, however, as near the shore as possible, for the advantage of smooth water to unload the cutter, which soon after came along-side with twelve casks of water. As soon as we had taken these on board, I sent the cutter again for another freight, and as we were at a very little distance from land, I ventured to send our long-boat, a clumsey, heavy, four-oared vessel, with provisions for the people on shore, and orders to bring back a load of water, if she could get it: as soon as these boats were dispatched, we made a tack off to keep our ground. At noon it blew hard, with heavy rain and thick weather, and at one, as we were standing in again, we saw the boats running along the shore, for the lee part of the island, this side being open to the wind; we therefore followed them, and brought to as near the shore as possible, to favour their coming on board: they presently made towards us, and we hoisted them in, but the sea was now risen so high, that in doing it they received considerable damage, and we soon learnt that they found the surf so great as not to be able even to land their empty water casks. We continued to lie to, under a balanced mizen, off the lee part of the island all the afternoon, and although all hands had been constantly employed ever since the ship had been driven off her anchoring ground, the carpenters worked all night in repairing the boats.
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Voyaging Accounts |  |
© Derived from Volume I of the London 1773 Edition: National Library of Australia call no. FERG 7243, page 544, 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/hv01/544.html