Having been disappointed in procuring salt provisions and the means of sending an officer to the Admiralty from Coepang, I had necessarily given up the project of going back to the north coast of Terra Australis; but since the decay of the ship did not appear to have advanced so rapidly as was expected, I judged there would not be much hazard in taking this opportunity of executing the article of my instructions, which directed me “to examine as particularly as circumstances would allow, the bank which extends itself from the Trial Rocks towards Timor.” (Atlas, Plate I.) Upon what authority the bank was thus described, I had no information; but that it did not reach so far as either Timor or Rottee, was proved by our having passed the west end of the latter island and sounded with more than 200 fathoms without finding bottom.  It seemed to me probable, that if such a bank existed and had any connexion to the north-east, it was more likely to be with the Sahul Shoal than with Timor; and I therefore steered a course to get upon the line between the two; proposing afterwards to run westward, across the line of direction from the Rocks to Timor, so as in either case to fall in upon the bank.

We sounded every two hours, and hove to three times a day, to get a greater depth; and in this way ran S. W. until the 16th [SATURDAY 16 APRIL 1803] at noon, to latitude 16 deg. 15’ and longitude 116 deg. 45’, without finding bottom with from 100 to 240 fathoms of line.  Our course was then W. by S., sounding in the same manner, until the 21st [THURSDAY 21 APRIL 1803] in the morning, to latitude 17 deg. 45’ and longitude 107 deg. 58’, but equally without success as to the bank; and I then hauled to the wind at S. E,. in order to make the rocks themselves.

The Trial Rocks obtained their name from the English ship Trial, which was lost upon them in 1622; but their exact situation seemed not to be well known.  Mr. Dalrymple had published a sketch of them upon the authority of a Dutch sloop, apparently sent from Batavia expressly for their examination; and in this they are described to lie in 19 deg. 30’ south, eighty leagues from the coast of New Holland; but Arrowsmith in his large chart of the South Sea, laid the Trial Rocks down in 20 deg. 40’ south, and 104 deg. 30’ east, or near double the distance from the coast.  The soundings of two East-Indiamen near the rocks, given in the South-Sea chart, stamped this last position with an authority which decided my opinion in its favour, and I accordingly steered for it.

Dull weather, with frequent heavy rain, thunder, and lightning, had prevailed from the time of leaving Coepang, and it produced the same effect upon the health of the ship’s company as similar weather had before done in the Gulph of Carpentaria; for we had at this time ten men in the sick list with diarrhoea, and many others were slightly affected.  It seemed possible that the change of food, from salt provisions to the fresh meat, fruit, and vegetables of Timor—­a change by which I hoped to banish every appearance of scurvy, might have had an influence in producing the disease; and if so, it was avoiding Scylla to fall upon Charybdis, and was truly unfortunate.