A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 13Kerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 13
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
At three in the morning, we made sail again to the northward, having the
advantage of a fresh gale at S.W. At noon, we were about three or four
leagues from the shore, and in latitude 34° 22' S., longitude 208° 36'
W. In the course of this day's run from the preceding noon, which was
forty-five miles north-east, we saw smoke in several places near the
beach. About two leagues to the northward of Cape George, the shore
seemed to form a bay, which promised shelter from the north-east winds,
but as the wind was with us, it was not in my power to look into it
without beating up, which would have cost me more time than I was
willing to spare. The north point of this bay, on account of its figure,
I named _Long Nose_; its latitude is 35° 6', and about eight leagues
north of it there lies a point, which, from the colour of the land about
it, I called _Red Point_: Its latitude is 34° 29', and longitude 208°
45' W. To the north-west of Red Point, and a little way inland, stands a
round hill, the top of which looks like the crown of a hat. In the
afternoon of this day, we had a light breeze at N.N.W. till five in the
evening, when it fell calm: At this time, we were between three and four
leagues from the shore, and had forty-eight fathom water: The variation
by azimuth was 8° 48' E. and the extremities of this land were from N.E.
by N. to S.W. by S. Before it was dark, we saw smoke in several places
along the shore, and a fire two or three times afterwards. During the
night we lay becalmed, driving in before the sea till one in the
morning, when we got a breeze from the land, with which we steered N.E.
being then in thirty-eight fathom. At noon, it veered to N.E. by N. and
we were then in latitude 34° 10' S., longitude 208° 27' W.: The land was
distant about five leagues, and extended from S. 37 W. to N. 1/2 E. In
this latitude, there are some white cliffs, which rise perpendicularly
from the sea to a considerable height. We stood off the shore till two
o'clock, and then tacked and stood in till six, when we were within four
or five miles of it, and at that distance had fifty fathom water. The
extremities of the land bore from S. 28 W. to N. 25° 30' E. We now
tacked and stood off till twelve, then tacked and stood in again till
four in the morning, when we made a trip off till day-light; and during
all this time we lost ground, owing to the variableness of the winds. We
continued at the distance of between four and five miles from the shore,
till the afternoon, when we came within two miles, and I then hoisted
out the pinnace and yawl to attempt a landing, but the pinnace proved to
be so leaky that I was obliged to hoist her in again. At this time we
saw several of the natives walking briskly along the shore, four of whom
carried a small canoe upon their shoulders: We flattered ourselves that
they were going to put her into the water, and come off to the ship, but
finding ourselves disappointed, I determined to go on shore in the yawl,
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