On the 23d, the wind inclined to the north-west, and, after heavy rain, settled in that quarter; by the favour of this change we proceeded to the southward, at the rate of between 70 and 100 miles in 24 hours. On the 26th, the wind shifted to the northward, and from that to the north-east; our latitude at this time was 42 deg.. 10'. north, and the longitude 11 deg.. 36'. west; variation of the compass, 20 deg.. 19'. west. On the 29th in the evening, (as we intended making the islands of Porto Sancto and Madeira) being but a little distance from the former, and the weather being hazy, we shortened sail, to prevent the convoy from falling suddenly in with the land in the night: at day-light the next morning, we saw the Deserters off Madeira, bearing west-south-west, five leagues distant; we had passed the island of Porto Sancto in the night, having steered to pass eight or nine leagues to the eastward of it; we found the ship set this last 24 hours 12 miles to the southward of the log. At noon the south-easternmost Deserter bore by compass north 17 deg.. west, by which we made its latitude 32 deg.. 29'. north, and its longitude by the time-keeper 16 deg.. 38'. west of Greenwich; the variation of the compass was here 17 deg.. 00' west: from hence, with a light breeze from the northward, we steered south half west, by compass, and at five P.M. on the 1st of June, we made the Salvages; which was rather sooner than we expected, by the distance we had run from the Deserters off Madeira, and the latitude observed the preceding noon, by which we judged ourselves not less than 17 leagues from them. At midnight we were exactly in their parallel, and saw them very distinctly by the light of the moon, which was very clear; their latitude, deduced from the preceding, as well as following meridian observations, is 30 deg.. 12'. north, which is 12 miles to the northward of what they are generally placed, either in tables or charts; their longitude, by our time-keeper, is 15 deg.. 53'. west. I had never seen these rocks before, and always understood them to be small inconsiderable spots, but the largest is so high as to be seen at the distance of seven or eight leagues, and appears to be about a mile and a half in length, from north-west to south-east; there are a few scattered rocks appear above water, to the westward; and I have been told, that a reef of considerable extent stretches out from them to the westward.