A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 12: Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the; Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea; and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present TimeKerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 12: Arranged in Systematic Order: Forming a Complete History of the; Origin and Progress of Navigation, Discovery, and Commerce, by Sea; and Land, from the Earliest Ages to the Present Time
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
On Sunday the 15th, about noon, we saw the Swallow under sail, and it
being calm, we sent our launch to assist her. In the evening the launch
returned, having towed her into a very good harbour on the south shore,
opposite to where we lay. The account that we received of this harbour,
determined us to get into it as soon as possible; the next morning
therefore, at eight o'clock, we sailed from Goodluck Bay, and thought
ourselves happy to get safe out of it. When we got a-breast of the
harbour where the Swallow lay, we fired several guns, as signals for her
boats to assist us in getting in; and in a short time the master came
on board us, and piloted us to a very commodious station, where we
anchored in twenty-eight fathom, with a muddy bottom. This harbour,
which is sheltered from all winds, and excellent in every respect, we
called _Swallow Harbour_. There are two channels into it, which are both
narrow, but not dangerous, as the rocks are easily discovered by the
weeds that grow upon them.
At nine o'clock the next morning, the wind coming easterly, we weighed,
and sailed from Swallow Harbour. At noon we took the Swallow in tow, but
at five, there being little wind, we cast off the tow. At eight in the
evening, the boats which had been sent out to look for anchorage,
returned with an account that they could find none: At nine we had fresh
gales, and at midnight Cape Upright bore S.S.W.1/2 W.
At seven, the next morning, we took the Swallow again in tow, but were
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 hazy, 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 came down from a mountain and wafted her off.
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