“A more deplorable, crazy vessel than the Investigator is, perhaps, not to be seen.  Her maintopmast is reefed a third down; we have been long without topgallantmasts, being necessitated to take the topgallant rigging for running gear.”

And Governor King, anxious to do Flinders justice, says:—­“I hope no carping cur will cast any reflection on him respecting the Investigator ... should it be so it will be an act of great injustice,” and then he alludes to the thoroughly rotten condition of the ship.  He was quick, too, to recognize the immense value of the work accomplished by Flinders, and made him every offer of help that lay within his power to continue the survey.

There were not more than half a dozen vessels in the colony, but Flinders could have any one of them he liked, but they were all too small and unfit for such a severe service.  At last it was decided that he should return home as a passenger in the Porpoise; some of his fellow-workers on the Investigator accompanied him, others went to the East Indies, and one or two stayed behind.  It was with a feeling of intense satisfaction that Flinders took possession of his comfortable cabin on the Porpoise, for he was looking forward to an agreeable rest after the hardships he had undergone.  The quarter-deck was taken up by a greenhouse protecting the plants collected on the Investigator’s voyage, and designed for the King’s garden at Kew.

Early in August, accompanied by two returning transports, the Cato and Bridgewater, the Porpoise, under Lieutenant Fowler, sailed out of Sydney Harbour, and steered a northerly course along the coast, closely followed by the other two ships.  With Flinders on board to consult, Fowler had no fear of the dangers of the Barrier Reef, and with a lusty south-east breeze, and a sky of cloudless blue, the three ships pressed steadily northward.  Four days later they arrived at a spot about 730 miles north of Sydney, just abreast of what is now Port Bowen, on the Queensland coast.

It was the second dog-watch, the evening was clear, and the three ships were slipping slowly over the undulating Pacific swell.  Flinders was below chatting to his friends about old times, and the officers were having a quiet smoke, when a cry of “Breakers ahead!” from both the quarterdeck and forecastle rang out in the quiet night.  The helm was put down, but the vessel had not enough way on, and scarce brought up to the wind.  Flinders, for the moment thinking he was on board the old Investigator again, turned to the officer near him and said with a quiet smile:  “At her old tricks again; she wants as much tiller rope as a young wife.”