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
Hence the mean dip, with both needles, on shore, was 72 32 3-1/4
On board 72 25 45-1/4
This is as near as can be expected; and shews, that whatever it was
that affected the compasses, whether on board or ashore, it had no
effect upon the dipping needles.
_Tides._
It is high water on the days of the new and full moon at 12^h 20^m.
The perpendicular rise and fall, eight feet nine inches; which is to
be understood of the day-tides, and those which happen two or three
days after the full and new moon. The night-tides, at this time, rise
near two feet higher. This was very conspicuous during the spring-tide
of the full moon, which happened soon after our arrival; and it was
obvious, that it would be the same in those of the new moon, though we
did not remain here long enough to see the whole of its effect.
Some circumstances, that occurred daily, relating to this, deserve
particular notice. In the cove, where we got wood and water, was a
great deal of drift wood thrown ashore; a part of which we had to
remove to come at the water. It often happened, that large pieces of
trees, which we had removed in the day out of the reach of the then
high water, were found, the next morning, floated again in our way;
and all our spouts, for conveying down the water, thrown out of their
places, which were immoveable during the day-tides. We also found,
that wood, which we had split up for fuel, and had deposited beyond
the reach of the day-tide, floated away during the night. Some of
these circumstances happened every night or morning, for three or
four days in the height of the spring-tides; during which time we were
obliged to attend every morning-tide, to remove the large logs out of
the way of watering.
I cannot say whether the flood-tide falls into the Sound from the
north-west, south-west, or south-east. I think it does not come
from the last quarter; but this is only conjecture, founded upon the
following observations: The south-east gales, which we had in the
Sound, were so far from increasing the rise of the tide, that they
rather diminished it; which would hardly have happened, if the flood
and wind had been in the same direction.
SECTION IV.
_A Storm, after sailing from Nootka Sound.--Resolution springs
a Leak.--Pretended Strait of Admiral de Fonte passed
unexamined.--Progress along the Coast of America.--Behring's
Bay.--Kaye's Island.--Account of it.--The Ships come to an
Anchor.--Visited by the Natives.--Their Behaviour.--Fondness for
Beads and Iron.--Attempt to plunder the Discovery.--Resolution's Leak
stopped.--Progress up the Sound.--Messrs Gore and Roberts sent to
examine its Extent.--Reasons against a Passage to the North through
it.--The Ships proceed down it to the open Sea._
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