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
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 cleaned up for a minute, just to shew us Cape
Upright, for which we directly steered, and at half an hour after five
anchored, with the Swallow, in the bay. When we dropped the anchor, we
were in twenty-four fathom, and after we had veered away a whole cable,
in forty-six, with a muddy bottom. In this situation, a high bluff on
the north shore bore N.W. 1/2 N. distant five leagues, and a small
island within us S. by E. 1/2 E. Soon after we had anchored, the Swallow
drove to leeward, notwithstanding she had two anchors a-head, but was at
last brought up, in seventy fathom, about a cable's length a-stern of
us. At four o'clock in the morning I sent the boats, with a considerable
number of men, and some hawsers and anchors, on board her, to weigh her
anchors, and warp her up to windward. When her best-bower anchor was
weighed, it was found entangled with the small one; I therefore found it
necessary to send the stream-cable on board, and the ship was hung up by
it. To clear her anchors, and warp her into a proper birth, cost us the
whole day, and was not at last effected without the utmost difficulty
and labour.
On the 18th we had fresh breezes, and sent the boats to sound cross the
streight. Within half-a-mile of the ship, they had forty, forty-five,
fifty, seventy, one hundred fathom, and then had no ground, till within
a cable's length of the lee-shore, where they had ninety fathom. We now
moored the ship in seventy-eight fathom, with the stream-anchor.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account