At noon of the 22d [FRIDAY 22 OCTOBER 1802], our latitude was 16 deg. 39’, longitude 148 deg. 43’, and there was no bottom at 150 fathoms (Atlas, Plate XII.); nor was any thing unusual to be seen, unless it were tropic and man-of-war birds, and gannets.  The Bature de Diane of Mons. de Bougainville should lie about thirty-eight leagues to the N. E. by E., and his western reefs about twenty-eight leagues to the N. N. W. 1/2 W., of this situation; and to them, or perhaps some nearer banks, the birds might probably belong.* A piece of land is marked to the south-west of the first reefs, but its existence is very doubtful; for all that M. de Bougainville says of it (II, 163) is, that “some even thought they saw low land to the south-west of the breakers.”

[* Bougainville’s longitude of the north end of Aurora Island, one of his
Archipel de Grandes Cyclades (the New Hebrides of Cook), differed 54’
of longitude to the east of captain Cook’s position; and it seems very
probable that it was as much too great when the above dangers were
discovered.  Admitting this to be the case, the situations extracted from
his voyage (II, 161, 164) will be as under: 
Bature de Diane 15 deg. 41’ south 150 deg.  25’ east of Greenwich. 
Reef            15  341/2         148  6
Second reef,    15  17          147 57 ]

SATURDAY 23 OCTOBER 1802

Next day at noon, we were in 15 deg. 12’ south, and 149 deg. 2’ east; the current had set half a knot to the N. N. W., and many of the former kinds of birds, as also boobies and petrels, were seen.  Hitherto we had kept up nearly to the wind, in order to gain an offing from the coast and Barrier Reefs; but next morning [SUNDAY 24 OCTOBER 1802] the course was directed N. W. At noon, latitude 13 deg. 47’, longitude 148 deg. 39’:  many boobies seen, and some petrels and tropic birds.  On the 25th [MONDAY 25 OCTOBER 1802], a shag flew round the ship, and a large flock of petrels was seen:  latitude at noon, 12 deg. 55’, longitude 147 deg. 23’, and the current setting more than a mile an hour to the west (Atlas, Plate XIII.).  At eight in the evening, when we hauled to the wind, there was no bottom at 130 fathoms.

WEDNESDAY 27 OCTOBER 1802

In the morning of the 27th, a small land bird, resembling a linnet, was seen; at noon we were in 10 deg. 28’ south and 146 deg. 7’ east, and the current had set W. N. W., three quarters of a mile an hour, since the 25th.  The wind, which had been at south-east, then shifted suddenly to north, and blew fresh with squally weather; but at midnight it veered to south-east again.  These changes were accompanied with thunder, lightning and rain; indications, as I feared, of the approaching north-west monsoon.  We lay to, during a part of the night; and at day-break [THURSDAY 28 OCTOBER 1802] bore away again upon our north western course.  At eight o’clock, breakers were