Having put our ship into as good order as we could, while we lay in the road of Zanzibar, we set sail for India on the 15th of February, 1592, as said before, intending, if we could, to have reached Cape Comorin, the head-land, or promontory, of the main-land of Malabar, and there to have lain off and on for such ships as should pass from Ceylon, San Thome.  Bengal, Pegu, Malacca, the Moluccas, China, or Japan, which ships are full of wealth and riches.  But in our course we were much deceived by the currents, which set into the gulf of Arabia, all along the coast of Melinda; and the winds so scanted upon us from the east and north-east, that we could not get off, and set us to the northward, within fourscore leagues of Socotoro, far from our destined course.  During all this time we never wanted dolphins, bonitos, and flying fishes.  Finding ourselves thus far to the northward, and the season being far spent, we determined upon going to the Red Sea, or the island of Socotoro, both for refreshment and to look out for some purchase, (prize).  But, while in this mind, the wind fortunately sprung up at north-west, and carried us direct for Cape Comorin.

Before doubling that cape, it was our intention to touch at the islands of Mamale[16] in 12 deg. of N. lat. at one of which we were informed we might procure provisions.  But it was not our luck to find it, partly by the obstinacy of our master; for the day before we should have fallen in with part of these islands, the wind shifted to the south-west, and we missed finding it.  As the wind now became more southerly, we feared not being able to double the cape, which would have greatly hazarded our being cast away upon the coast of Malabar, the winter season and western monsoon being already come in, which monsoon continues on that coast till August.  But it pleased God that the wind came about more westerly, so that in May, 1592, we happily doubled Cape Comorin, without being in sight of the coast of India.  Having thus doubled the cape, we directed our course for the islands of Nicobar, which lie north and south with the western part of Sumatra, and in lat. 7 deg.  N.[17] We ran from Cape Comorin to the meridian of these islands in six days, having a very large wind, though with foul weather, excessive rain, and gusts of wind.

[Footnote 16:  Perhaps the Maldives are here meant; but the northern extremity of that group is in lat. 7 deg.  N., and the latitude of 10 deg., which reaches to the southernmost of the Lakedives, is very far out of the way for doubling Cape Comorin.—­E.]

[Footnote 17:  The Nicobar Islands are in 8 deg.  N.; but Great Sambelong is in the latitude mentioned in the text, and may have been considered as belonging to the Nicobar group.—­E.]