We kept on still to the eastward, with an easy sail, looking out sharp; for, by the many signs we had, I did expect that we were near the land. At twelve a clock in the night I sounded, and had forty-five fathom, coarse sand and small white shells. I presently clapt on a wind and stood to the south, and the wind at W., because I thought we were to the south of a shoal call’d the Abrohles (an appellative name for shoals, as it seems to me), which in a draught I had of that coast is laid down in 27 degrees, 28 minutes latitude, stretching about seven leagues into the sea. I was the day before in 27 degrees, 38 minutes by reckoning. And afterwards steering E. by S. purposely to avoid it, I thought I must have been to the south of it: but sounding again at one a clock in the morning, August the 1st, we had but twenty-five fathom, coral rocks; and so found the shoal was to the south of us. We presently tack’d again, and stood to the north, and then soon deepned our water; for at two in the morning we had twenty-six fathom, coral still: at three, we had twenty-eight, coral ground: at four, we had thirty fathom, coarse sand, with some coral: at five, we had forty-five fathom, coarse sand and shells; being now off the shoal, as appear’d by the sand and shells, and by having left the coral. By all this I knew we had fallen into the north of the shoal, and that it was laid down wrong in my sea-chart: for I found it lye in about 27 degrees latitude, and by our run in the next day I found that the outward edge of it, which I sounded on, lies sixteen leagues off shore. When it was day we steered in E.N.E. with a fine brisk gale, but did not see the land till nine in the morning, when we saw it from our topmast head, and were distant from it about ten leagues, having then forty fathom water and clear sand. About three hours after we saw it on our quarter-deck, being by judgment about six leagues off, and we had then forty fathom, clean sand. As we ran in, this day and the next, we took several sights of it, at different bearings and distances. This morning, August the 1st, as we were standing in we saw several large sea fowls, like our gannets on the coast of England, flying three or four together; and a sort of white sea-mews, but black about the eyes, and with forked tails. We strove to run in near the shore to seek for a harbour to refresh us after our tedious voyage; having made one continued stretch from Brazil hither of about 114 degrees, designing from hence also to begin the discovery I had a mind to make on New Holland and New Guinea. The land was low, and appear’d even, and as we drew nearer to it, it made (as you see in Table iv, No. 3, 4, 5)[32] with some red and some white clifts; these last in latitude 26 degrees, 10 minutes south, where you will find fifty-four fathom within four miles of the shore.