The whole time we had been in this strait, the wind had been variable from south-south-west to west-north-west; in the night it sometimes inclined in very light airs from south-south-east to south. On the 11th, in the afternoon, as we were standing to the westward, the water appeared suddenly of a very light colour, and on looking over the side, we perceived the ground under the ship: before we had time to heave a cast of the lead, it appeared to be deeper, and we had ten and twelve fathoms; but I am inclined to think, from what I saw of the bottom, that there could not have been more than five or six: the bottom was white sand, with some dark patches upon it. From the mast-head, at the same time, was seen a dry sand-bank, bearing north-north-east six miles distant; a little way to the eastward of it, the water seemed to break. This shoal is very dangerous, and does not appear in any chart which I have seen: there is a shoal marked in the Dutch charts, nearly in the same parallel, but it is so very much misplaced in its longitude, or distance from the land, that I cannot suppose it has been meant for the same shoal. The latitude of this shoal is 3 deg. 37' south, and the longitude 117 deg. 54' east; it extends from the two small islands which are called the Brothers, and lie off the east part of Borneo, east half north, distant fifty-one miles. We made the Brothers at day-light in the morning, after passing this shoal, and at ten o'clock we passed within three miles of them, in from twenty-two to seventeen fathoms water, over a sandy bottom. The latitude of the Brothers is 3 deg. 41' south, and the longitude 117 deg. 00' east. We stood on to the south-west, after passing the Brothers, expecting that course would have carried us clear of every part of Borneo, but the south part of Borneo, and the large island called Poolo La'oot, form a considerable bight; into this bight we found a strong in-draught, by which, and the wind being light, we were drawn, and could not fetch round Borneo; we stood off and on there with light and baffling winds, and a short chop of a sea, and gained no ground: after passing two days and a night in this situation, we got a breeze, which enabled us to weather the Brothers again, and stand to the eastward, where we had more room. This situation gave me some uneasy moments; for we dropt in so fast upon the shore, that we found it necessary to prepare for anchoring; this would have occasioned a loss of time, which, from a variety of circumstances, we could not afford: the anchorage off here is clear soft ground, and shoals regularly to the shore; we had twelve fathoms four miles off. This bight ought to be carefully avoided, for certainly during the prevalence of the easterly monsoon here, there is a very strong set into it: it would be much better for ships bound to the westward to get as far to the southward as the south point of Borneo, before they stretched to