We met with little of remark in this voyage, besides being accompanied with fowls all the way, especially pintado-birds, and seeing now and then a whale; but as we drew nigher the coast of New Holland, we saw frequently three or four whales together. When we were about ninety leagues from the land we began to see sea-weeds, all of one sort; and as we drew nigher the shore we saw them more frequently. At about thirty-leagues distance we began to see some scuttle-bones floating on the water, and drawing still nigher the land we saw greater quantities of them. July 25th, being in latitude 26 degrees, 14 minutes S., and longitude east from the Cape of Good Hope 85 degrees, 52 minutes, we saw a large gar-fish leap four times by us, which seemed to be as big as a porpose. It was now very fair weather, and the sea was full of a sort of very small grass or moss, which, as it floated in the water, seem’d to have been some spawn of fish; and there was among it some small fry. The next day the sea was full of small round things like pearl, some as big as white peas; they were very clear and transparent, and upon crushing any of them a drop of water would come forth: the skin that contain’d the water was so thin that it was but just discernable. Some weeds swam by us, so that we did not doubt but we should quickly see land. On the 27th also some weeds swam by us, and the birds that had flown along with us all the way almost from Brazil now left us, except only two or three shear-waters. On the 28th we saw many weeds swim by us, and some whales blowing. On the 29th we had dark cloudy weather, with much thunder, lightning, and violent rains in the morning, but in the evening it grew fair. We saw this day a scuttle-bone swim by us, and some of our young men a seal, as it should seem by their description of its head. I saw also some bonetas and some skipjacks, a fish about eight inches long, broad, and sizeable, not much unlike a roach, which our seamen call so from their leaping about. The 30th of July, being still nearer the land, we saw abundance of scuttle-bones and sea-weed, more tokens that we were not far from it; and saw also a sort of fowls, the like of which we had not seen in the whole voyage, all the other fowls having now left us. These were as big as lapwings, of a grey colour, black about their eyes, with red sharp bills, long wings, their tails long and forked like swallows, and they flew flapping their wings like lapwings. In the afternoon we met with a ripling like a tide or current, or the water of some shoal or over-fall; but were past it before we could sound. The birds last mention’d and this were further signs of the land. In the evening we had fair weather, and a small gale at west. At eight a clock we sounded again, but had no ground.