A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 17: 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 — John Shaqi
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Volume 17: 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 17: 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
On the 17th, at noon, we were in latitude 45 deg. 7', by observation, longitude
154 deg. 0'. The wind now again coming to the westward, obliged us to steer a
more southerly course; and, at midnight, it blew from that quarter a fresh
gale, accompanied with heavy rain. In the morning, we saw another land-
bird, and many flocks of gulls and peterels bending their course to the
S.W. The heavy N.E. swell, with which we had constantly laboured since our
departure from Lopatka, now ceased, and changed suddenly to the S.E. In the
forenoon of the 18th; we passed great quantities of rock-weed, from which,
and the flights of birds above-mentioned, we conjectured we were at no
great distance from the southernmost of the Kuriles; and, at the same time,
the wind coming round to the S., enabled us to stand in for it. At two, we
set studding-sails, and steered W.; but the wind increasing to a gale, soon
obliged as to double reef the top-sails; and, at midnight, we judged it
necessary to try for soundings. Accordingly we hove to; but, finding no
bottom at seventy-five fathoms, we were encouraged to persevere, and again
bore away W., with the wind at S.E. This course we kept till two in the
morning, when the weather becoming thick, we hauled our wind, and steered
to the S.W. till five, when a violent storm reduced us to our courses.
Notwithstanding the unfavourable state of the weather left us little
prospect of making the land, we still kept this object anxiously in view;
and, at day-light, ventured to steer W. by S., and continued to stand on in
this direction till ten in the forenoon, when the wind, suddenly shifting
to the S.W., brought with it clear weather. Of this we had scarcely taken
advantage, by setting the top-sails, and letting out the reefs, when it
began to blow so strong from this quarter, that we were forced to close-
reef again; and, at noon, the wind shifting two points to the W., rendered
it vain to keep any longer on this tack. We therefore put about, and
steered to the southward. At this time, our latitude, by observation, was
44 deg. 12', and longitude 150 deg. 40'; so that, after all our efforts, we had the
mortification to find ourselves, according to the Russian charts, upon a
meridian with Nadeegsda, which they make the southernmost of the Kurile
Islands, and about twenty leagues to the southward.
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