On the 27th of July we sent off two boats from each ship to erect a look-out on an island several miles to seaward of the ship. Whilst the boats were thus engaged the crews saw humpback whales, but forebore to meddle with them, supposing them to be the pioneers of the school said to frequent these islands, and wishing to do nothing at this early date to scare them from the haunts. On their return to the ship with this cheering intelligence, all was bustle and activity. The blubber-room was cleared out, useless casks were sent ashore, and every preparation was made to carry on whaling with the utmost spirit; but alas! for the vanity and frailty of human expectations, these were the sole and only representatives of their species that we had a sight at during our five weeks’ sojourn amongst the Abrolhas’. Things thus remained in _statu quo_ until the 14th, when, as we began to send up spars and make preparations for our departure, the luminous idea struck somebody of sending one or more boats over to Champion Bay, to ascertain whether whales had been seen on the coast, and whether the Port Gregory whaling company had accomplished anything during the present season. In pursuance of this resolution a boat from each ship, provisioned for a week, was despatched to the main, under the conduct of the mates of the respective vessels. We started at 1 o’clock P.M. with a fair wind, and at nine the same evening made the main land, in the vicinity of a headland known as the Wizard’s Peak. In the opinion of our fourth mate, who had been here previously, we were too far to the northward, and, as the line of breakers presented no point where we could land, in pursuance of his suggestion we kept off to the southward, and continued running until midnight, when we anchored in fifteen fathoms of water, and endeavored to get some sleep; one of our number standing watch all through the night. At daybreak we resumed our course to the southward until about 3 o’clock in the afternoon, when we became convinced of the incapacity of our pilot, and thought it advisable to retrace our course to the northward; the wind being ahead, we had to pull in the teeth of wind and sea. At dark we again came to anchor in fourteen fathoms of water, and passed the night in the same manner as the preceding one. At daylight, seeing nothing of the entrance, the feasibility of a return to the ship was mooted, but as our supply of water had dwindled to a gallon in both boats, we were loath to adopt this measure, except as a dernier resort; but the wind, fortunately for us, having hauled during the night, we set sail, and at nine o’clock in the morning discovered the wished for haven within a few miles of the peak we had sighted the first night--a very fortunate conclusion to our misadventure. On reflection, we could now see the dangers of our late situation. Had a gale come on from the westward we could not possibly have escaped being driven on shore; and if it had come from