We continued to stand to the north with the wind easterly till the afternoon, on the 1st of February, when, falling in with some loose ice which had broken from an island to windward, we hoisted out two boats, and having taken some on board, resumed our course to the north and north-east with gentle breezes from the south-east, attended sometimes with fair weather, and at other times with snow and sleet. On the 4th we were in the latitude of 65° 42ʹ S., longitude 99° 44ʹ. The next day the wind was very unsettled both in strength and position, and attended with snow and sleet. At length on the 6th, after a few hours’ calm, we got a breeze at south, which soon after freshened, fixed at west south-west, and was attended with snow and sleet. I now came to a resolution to proceed to the north, and to spend the ensuing winter within the tropic, if I met with no employment before I came there. I was now well satisfied no continent was to be found in this ocean, but what must lie so far to the south as to be wholly inaccessible on account of ice; and that if one should be found in the Southern Atlantic Ocean, it would be necessary to have the whole summer before us to explore it. On the other hand, upon a supposition that there is no land there, we undoubtedly might have reached the Cape of Good Hope by April, and so have put an end to the expedition, so far as it related to the finding a continent; which indeed was the first object of the voyage. But for me at this time to have quitted this Southern Pacific Ocean, with a good ship expressly sent out on discoveries, a healthy crew, and not in want either of stores or of provisions, would have been betraying not only a want of perseverance, but of judgment, in supposing the South Pacific Ocean to have been so well explored, that nothing remained to be done in it. This, however, was not my opinion; for, although I had proved there was no continent but what must lie far to the south, there remained, nevertheless, room for very large islands in places wholly unexamined: and many of those which were formerly discovered, are but imperfectly explored, and their situations as imperfectly known. I was besides of opinion, that my remaining in this sea some time longer, would be productive of improvements in navigation and geography, as well as other sciences. I had several times communicated my thoughts on this subject to Captain Furneaux; but as it then wholly depended on what we might meet with to the south, I could not give it in orders without running the risk of drawing us from the main object.