Having received this account, I considered that the watering here would be tedious, and attended with great fatigue: That it was now the depth of winter in the southern hemisphere, that the ship was leaky, that the rudder shook the stern very much, and that what other damage she might have received in her bottom could not be known. That for these reasons, she was very unfit for the bad weather which she would certainly meet with either in going round Cape Horn, or through the streight of Magellan: That if she should get safely through the streight, or round the cape, it would be absolutely necessary for her to refresh in some port, but in that case no port would be in her reach; I therefore determined to make the best of my way to Tinian, Batavia, and so to Europe by the Cape of Good Hope. By this route, as far as we could judge, we should sooner be at home; and if the ship should prove not to be in a condition to make the whole voyage, we should still save our lives, as from this place to Batavia we should probably have a calm sea, and be not far from a port. In consequence of this resolution, at noon I bore away, and passed Boscawen's Island without visiting it. It is a high round island, abounding in wood, and full of people; but Keppel's Isle is by far the largest and the best of the two. Boscawen's Island lies in latitude 15° 50' S. longitude 175° W. and Keppel's Isle in latitude 15° 55' S. longitude 175° 3' W. We continued a W.N.W. course till ten o'clock in the morning of Sunday the 16th, when we saw land bearing N. by E. and hauled up for it. At noon, we were within three leagues of it: The land within shore appeared to be high, but at the water-side it was low, and had a pleasant appearance; the whole seemed to be surrounded by reefs, that ran two or three miles into the sea. As we sailed along the shore, which was covered with cocoa-nut trees, we saw a few huts, and smoke in several parts up the country. Soon after we hauled without a reef of rocks, to get round the lee-side of the island, and at the same time sent out the boats to sound, and examine the coast.