Not seeing any more islands to the southward from the masthead, we bore away east soon after noon to make Kent’s Groups; and before three o’clock they both came in sight, as did an island to the northward, which seems to have been one of the small cluster discovered by Mr. John Black, and named Hogan’s Group.  The longitude by time keepers at this time was 146 deg. 58’ east, and the following bearings were taken: 

Sir R. Curtis’ Island, the peak, N. 71 deg.  W.
Hogan’s highest Island, from the mast head, N. 5 E.
Kent’s large Group, south end of the eastern I. N. 70 E.
Small Group, dist. 6 or 7 miles, hiding the
north-west end of the large group, N. 52 deg. to 45 E.

In steering past the south sides of the two groups at the distance of four to six miles, I was enabled to correct their positions; and also that of the pyramid, which was set at S. 41/2 deg.  E. ten miles at four o’clock.  When these lands had been laid down in the Francis and Norfolk in 1798, it was without the assistance of a time keeper, and therefore liable to considerable errors in longitude.

At five in the evening I thought myself fortunate to get a sight of Furneaux’s great island through the haze; and also of a small, craggy isle which had been before fixed relatively to the inner Sister.  To obtain the positions of these places by our timekeepers was to me an important object; since they were connected with the former survey of Furneaux’s Islands and the north-eastern part of Van Diemen’s Land.  The bearings taken at five were,

Furneaux’s great I., hills on the west part, S. 48 deg.  E.
Small craggy isle, S. 69 E.
Kent’s large Group, extremes, N. 7 deg. to 47 W.
Small Group, the largest isle, N. 77 W.
A small rock, not seen before, N. 88 E.

The hills upon Furneaux’s great island, which I believe, but could not certainly ascertain to have been upon the westernmost point, will therefore lie very nearly S. 48 deg.  E., from the bluff south-west end of Kent’s large Group, instead of S. 38 deg.  E., as before marked.  This places the great island 10’ of longitude further east from the group, than was given by my run in the Francis during the night of Feb. 8, 1798.

We passed to the northward of the small new rock at the distance of three miles, and I judged it to lie four, or four-and-half leagues from the eastern side of Kent’s large Group.  No kind of danger was observed between them, but it was then nearly dark; and the wind being fresh and favourable, and not having more than ten days provisions in the ship, I felt it necessary to leave this and some other parts of Bass’ Strait to a future examination; and we steered onward, east-north-east for Port Jackson.

WEDNESDAY 5 MAY 1802