February 6.

At eight o’clock the next morning, having steered through the night North-East by East, we were in ninety fathoms, sand, broken shells, and large stones.

February 8.

On the morning of the 8th the land was seen in the South-East and soon afterwards the brig passed round Cape Leveque at the distance of a mile and a half.  On our way towards Point Swan we saw from the masthead a line of strong tide-ripplings, extending from the point in a North-West by West direction; within which we at first attempted to pass but, finding that they were connected to the point, hauled up to steer through them where they seemed to be the least dangerous.  As we approached the noise was terrific and, although we were not more than two minutes amongst the breakers, yet the shocks of the sea were so violent as to make me fear for the safety of our masts.  A smaller vessel would perhaps have been swamped; for although the sea was in other parts quite smooth and the wind light, yet the water broke over the bows and strained the brig considerably.

We then steered between Point Swan and two rocky islands lying five miles from the shore over a space which, at our last visit, appeared to be occupied by an extensive reef, but we were then probably deceived by tide-ripplings.

It was my intention to have brought up under the lee of the point, where Dampier describes his having anchored in twenty-nine fathoms clear sandy ground; but upon rounding the projection, the wind suddenly fell and, after a light squall from South-West we had a dead calm; the depth was thirty fathoms coral bottom and therefore not safe to anchor upon; this was unfortunate for the sudden defection of the wind prevented our hauling into the bay out of the tide, which was evidently running with considerable rapidity and drifting us, without our having the means of preventing it, towards a cluster of small rocks and islands through which we could not discover any outlet, and which were so crowded that in the dangerous predicament in which we found ourselves placed they bore a truly awful and terrific appearance.  At this time I was at my usual post, the masthead, directing the steerage of the vessel; but as the brig was drifting forward by a rapid sluice of tide towards some low rocks, about a quarter of a mile off, that were not more than two feet above the water’s edge, and upon which it appeared almost inevitable that we must strike, I descended to the deck, under the certain conviction that we could not escape the dangers that were strewed across our path unless a breeze should spring up, of which there was not the slightest appearance or probability.