A South-East 1/2 East course 176 miles, from the same position, will take a ship to Port Dalrymple.  In the first twenty-nine miles of this distance, the soundings will have decreased to nearly 30 fathoms, and the ship’s place should be then abreast of the North-East end of King Island, distant ten miles.  The sight of this and, further on, of the Hunter Group, which should be passed at a distance of 20 miles to the South-West, will show if the right allowance has been made for the set of the tides.  In the courses given in this note, the tidal influence has not been noticed; but I have above noticed the direction of the streams, and the allowance to be made will of course depend on what stream the ship enters or leaves the Strait with.

Again, from the same position, an east course, 136 miles, will place a ship four miles to the south of the Curtis Isles.  The soundings will be found to decrease to 40 fathoms thirty miles to the eastward of King Island, and will continue within a fathom or two of that depth for the remainder of the distance.

Two hundred and four miles from the above position, on a North-East 1/4 East course, will take a ship to abreast of Cape Howe, distant twenty miles; passing midway between Hogan and Kent Groups, distant nearly nine miles from each, at which time twenty-eight miles will have been run on the above course.  In passing the latter group, attention should be paid to the set of the tides; as with the flood-stream and a northerly wind vessels may be obliged to pass on the south side of it.  Cape Howe bears from Kent Group, North 36 degrees East, 170 miles.  When a ship gets into 30 fathoms she will be within 8 miles of the North-East side of these islands; and on the opposite she will have that depth half the distance off.

It only now remains to notice the tides in the passage north of King Island.  It is high-water on the full and change days at 1 o’clock; the stream begins to set to the South-West three hours and a half before high-water, running with a velocity of from 1 to 2 knots; past the Harbinger Rocks, however, it sweeps round to the South-South-West, sometimes at the rate of nearly two knots and a half.

Having alluded to the entrance south of King Island in an earlier part of the work, and as it is a passage I do not recommend, I shall not here enter into many details respecting it, further than to say that if a ship is obliged to enter Bass Strait by that entrance, she should keep to the southward of Reid’s Rocks, passing close to the Black Pyramid, a dark rocky lump, 240 feet high, in latitude 40 degrees 28 minutes South, longitude 144 degrees 18 1/2 minutes East.  This should be made bearing North-East 3/4 East, which would keep ships clear of the Conway and Bell sunken rocks, the former and outermost of which lies fifteen miles North 83 degrees West from it.  The cross set of the tides should be particularly borne in mind, and likewise their strength, which is sometimes 3 knots.  The stream to the South-West by South begins at 3 P.M. on the full and change days, or three hours and a half before high-water.  The depth in the south entrance varies from 35 to 38 fathoms.