On the 3d, at noon, being in latitude 56 deg. 46’, longitude 139 deg. 45’, the weather became fair, and the wind veered to S.W.  About this time we saw a few small divers (as we call them) of the peterel tribe, which we judged to be such as are usually seen near land, especially in the bays, and on the coast of New Zealand.  I cannot tell what to think of these birds; had there been more of them, I should have been ready enough to believe that we were, at this time, not very far from land, as I never saw one so far from known land before.  Probably these few had been drawn thus far by some shoal of fish; for such were certainly about us, by the vast number of blue peterels, albatrosses, and such other birds as are usually seen in the great ocean; all or most of which left us before night.  Two or three pieces of seaweed were also seen, but these appeared old and decayed.

At eight o’clock in the evening, being in the latitude of 56 deg.  S., longitude 140 deg. 31’ W., the wind fixing in the western board, obliged us to steer north-easterly, and laid me under the necessity of leaving unexplored a space of the sea to the west, containing near 40 deg. of longitude, and half that of latitude.  Had the wind continued favourable, I intended to have run 15 or 20 degrees of longitude more to the west in the latitude we were then in, and back again to the east in the latitude of 50 deg..  This route would have so intersected the space above mentioned, as hardly to have left room for the bare supposition of any land lying there.  Indeed, as it was, we have little reason to believe that there is; but rather the contrary, from the great hollow swell we had had, for several days, from the W. and N.W., though the wind had blown from a contrary direction great part of the time; which is a great sign we had not been covered by any land between these two points.

While we were in the high latitudes, many of our people were attacked with a slight fever, occasioned by colds.  It happily yielded to the simplest remedies; was generally removed in a few days; and, at this time, we had not above one or two on the sick list.[10]

We proceeded N.E. by N. till the 6th, at noon.  Being then in the latitude of 52 deg. 0’ S., longitude 135 deg. 32’ W., and about 200 leagues from our track to Otaheite, in which space it was not probable, all circumstances considered, there is any extensive land, and it being still less probable any lay to the west, from the great mountainous billows we had had, and still continued to have, from that quarter, I therefore steered N.E., with a fresh gale at W.S.W.

At eight o’clock in the morning, on the 7th, being in the latitude of 50 deg. 49’ S., we observed several distances of the sun and moon, which gave the longitude as follows, viz.

By Mr. Wales, 133 deg. 24’ 0” West. 
       Gilbert, 133 10 0
       Clarke, 133 0 0
       Smith, 133 37 25
       Myself, 133 37 0
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       Mean, 133 21 43