A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 16Kerr, Robert
History
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 16
Kerr, Robert
Voyages and travels
I now return to the progress of our voyage. On the 7th, being in the
latitude of 29 deg. N. and in the longitude of 200 deg. E. the wind veered to
S.E. This enabled us to steer N.E. and E.; which course we continued,
till the 12th, when the wind had veered round by the S. and W. to
N.E. and E.N.E. I then tacked and stood to the northward, our latitude
being 30 deg. N. and our longitude 206 deg. 15' E. Notwithstanding our
advanced latitude, and its being the winter season, we had only begun,
for a few days past, to feel a sensation of cold in the mornings and
evenings. This is a sign of the equal and lasting influence of
the sun's heat, at all seasons, to 30 deg. on each side the line. The
disproportion is known to become very great after that. This must be
attributed almost entirely to the direction of the rays of the sun,
independent of the bare distance, which is by no means equal to the
effect.
On the 19th, being now in the latitude of 37 deg. N. and in the longitude
of 206 deg. E. the wind veered to S.E.; and I was enabled again to
steer to the E. inclining to the N. We had, on the 25th, reached the
latitude of 42 deg. 30', and the longitude of 219 deg.; and then we began
to meet with the rock-weed, mentioned by the writer of Lord Anson's
voyage, under the name of sea-leek, which the Manilla ships generally
fall in with. Now and then a piece of wood also appeared. But if we
had not known that the continent of North America was not far distant,
we might, from the few signs of the vicinity of land hitherto met
with, have concluded, that there was none within some thousand leagues
of us. We had hardly seen a bird, or any other oceanic animal, since
we left Sandwich Islands.
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