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
About six miles east of Noah's Ark lies Seal Island, the south
part of which is said to be dangerous, and not to be approached, with
safety, nearer than in twenty-two fathoms. Off the Cape of Good Hope are
many sunk rocks, some of which appear at low water; and others have
breakers constantly on them.
The latitude of the anchoring-place in Simon's
Bay, by observation 34 deg.20'S.
The longitude 18 29 E.
Dip of the south end of the magnetic needle 46 47
Variation of the compass 22 16 W.
On the full and change days, it was high-water at 5^h 55^m apparent time;
the tide rose and fell five feet five inches; at the neap tides, it rose
four feet one inch.
From the observations taken by Mr Bayley and myself, on the 11th of this
month, when the Cape of Good Hope bore due west, we found its latitude to
be 34 deg. 23' S., which is 4' to the northward of its position, as determined
by the Abbe de la Caille.
Having completed our victualling, and furnished ourselves with the
necessary supply of naval stores, we sailed out of the bay on the 9th of
May, and on the 14th, we got into the south-east trade-wind, and steered to
the westward of the islands of St Helena and Ascension. On the 31st, being
in latitude 12 deg. 48' S., longitude 15 deg. 40' W., the magnetic needle was found
to have no dip.
On the 12th of June, we passed the equator for the fourth time during this
voyage, in longitude 26 deg. 16' W. We now began to perceive the effects of a
current setting N. by E., half a knot an hour. It continued in this
direction till the middle of July, when it began to set a little to the
southward of the west.
On the 12th of August, we made the western coast of Ireland, and after a
fruitless attempt to get into Port Galway, from whence it was Captain
Gore's intentions to have sent the journals and maps of our voyage to
London, we were obliged, by strong southerly winds, to steer to the
northward. Our next object was to put into Lough Swilly; but the wind
continuing in the same quarter, we stood on to the northward of Lewis
Island; and on the 22d of August, at eleven in the morning, both ships came
to an anchor at Stromness. From hence, I was dispatched by Captain Gore, to
acquaint the Board of Admiralty with our arrival; and on the 4th day of
October the ships arrived safe at the Nore, after an absence of four years,
two months, and twenty-two days.
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