All being prepared for our departure, we sailed from Loheia on the 3d of September 1769, but the wind failing, we were obliged to warp the vessel out upon her anchors. The harbour of Loheia, which is by much the largest in the Red Sea, is now so shallow, and choked up, that, unless by a narrow canal through which we enter and go out, there is no where three fathom of water, and in many places not half that depth. This is the case with all the harbours on the east-coast of the Red Sea, while those on the west are deep, without any banks or bars before them, which is probably owing, as I have already said, to the violence of the north-west winds, the only constant strong winds to be met with in this Gulf. These occasion strong currents to set in upon the east-coast, and heap up the land and gravel which is blown in from Arabia. All next day, the 4th, we were employed at warping out our vessel against a contrary wind. The 5th, at three quarters past five in the morning, we got under sail with little wind. At half past nine, Loheia bore east north-east about four leagues distant; and here we came in sight of several small, barren, and uninhabited islands. Booarish bore south-west two miles off; Zebid one mile and a half distant, east and by north; Amar, the smallest of all, one mile south; and Ormook, south-east by east two miles. The Arabs of the mountain, who had attempted to surprise Loheia in the spring, now prepared for another attack against it, and had advanced within three days journey. This obliged the Emir to draw together all his troops from the neighbourhood; all the camels were employed to lay in an extraordinary stock of water. Our Rais, who was a stranger, and without connections in this place, found himself under great difficulties to provide water enough for the voyage, for we had but a scanty provision left, and though our boat was no more than sixty feet long, we had about forty people on board of her. I had indeed hired the vessel for myself, but gave the Rais leave to take some known people passengers on board, as it was very dangerous to make enemies in the place to which I was going, by frustrating any person of his voyage home, even though I paid for the boat, and still as dangerous to take a person unknown, whose end in the voyage might be to defeat my designs. We were resolved, therefore, to bear away for an island to the northward, where they said the water was both good, and in plenty.