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
westward, and the weather more moderate, we got up both the anchors, and
kept working to windward. At ten we found the tide setting again
strongly to the eastward, and we therefore sent the boat back to seek
for an anchoring-place, which she found in a bay on the north shore,
about four miles to the eastward of Cape Quod, and a little way within
some small islands: We endeavoured to get into this bay, but the tide
rushed out of it with such violence, that we found it impossible, and at
noon bore away for York Road, at the entrance of Bachelor's River, where
we anchored about an hour afterwards.
[Footnote 30: "The streights are here four leagues over, and it is
difficult to get any anchorage, on account of the unevenness and
irregularity of the bottom, which in several places close to the shore
has from twenty to fifty fathoms water, and in other parts no ground is
to be found with a line of a hundred and fifty fathoms."]
At six o'clock the next morning, we weighed and worked with the tide,
which set the same as the day before, but we could not gain an
anchoring-place, so that at noon we bore away for York Road again. I
took this opportunity to go up Bachelor's River in my jolly-boat, as
high as I could, which was about four miles: In some places I found it
very wide and deep, and the water was good, but near the mouth it is so
shallow at low water, that even a small boat cannot get into it.
At six o'clock on the 5th we weighed again, and at eight, it being stark
calm, we sent the boats a-head to tow; at eleven, however, the tide set
so strong from the westward, that we could not gain the bay on the north
shore, which the boat had found for us on the 4th, and which was an
excellent harbour, fit to receive five or six sail: We were therefore
obliged to anchor upon a bank, in forty-five fathom, with the stream
anchor, Cape Quod bearing W.S.W. distant five or six miles, the south
point of the island that lies to the east of the cape, being just in one
with the pitch of it, and a remarkable stone patch on the north shore,
bearing N.1/2 W. distant half a mile. Close to the shore here, the depth
of water was seventy-five fathom. As soon as we were at anchor, I sent
an officer to the westward to look out for a harbour, but he did not
succeed. It was calm the rest of the day, and all night, the tide
setting to the eastward from the time we anchored till six o'clock the
next morning, when we weighed, and were towed by the boats to the
westward. At eight a fresh breeze sprung up at W.S.W. and W. and at noon
Cape Quod bore E. by S. at the distance of about five miles. In this
situation I sent the boats out again to look for an anchoring-place, and
about noon, by their direction, we anchored in a little bay on the south
shore, opposite to Cape Quod, in five and twenty fathom, with very good
ground.[31] A small rocky island bore W. by N. at the distance of about
two cables' length, the eastermost point E. 1/2 S. and Cape Quod N.E. by
N.
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