This day I ordered hooks and lines to be served to all the ship’s company, that they might catch fish for themselves; but at the same time I also ordered that no man should keep his fish more than four-and-twenty hours before it was eaten, for I had observed that stale, and even dried fish, had made the people sickly, and tainted the air in the ship.

On the first of October, in lat. 10 deg. 37’ N. we lost the true trade-wind, and had only light and variable gales; and this day we found that the ship was set twelve miles to the northward by a current; on the third we found a current run S. by E. at the rate of six fathom an hour, or about twenty miles and a half a day:  On the seventh we found the ship nineteen miles to the southward of her reckoning.

On the 20th, our butter and cheese being all expended, we began to serve the ship’s company with oil, and I gave orders that they should also be served with mustard and vinegar once a fortnight during the rest of the voyage.

On the 22d we saw an incredible number of birds, and among the rest a man-of-war bird, which inclined us to think that some land was not more than sixty leagues distant:  This day we crossed the equator in longitude 23 deg. 40’ W.

On the 24th, I ordered the ship’s company to be served with brandy, and reserved the wine for the sick and convalescent.  On the 26th the Prince Frederick made signals of distress, upon which we bore down to her, and found that she had carried away her fore-top-sail-yard, and to supply this loss, we gave her our sprit-sail top-sail-yard, which we could spare, and she hoisted it immediately.

On the 27th she again made signals of distress, upon which I brought-to, and sent the carpenter on board her, who returned with an account that she had sprung a leak under the larboard cheek forward, and that it was impossible to do any thing to it till we had better weather.  Upon speaking with Lieutenant Brine, who commanded her, he informed me that the crew were sickly; that the fatigue of working the pumps, and constantly standing by the sails, had worn them down; that their provisions were not food, that they had nothing to drink but water, and that he feared it would be impossible for him to keep company with me except I could spare him some assistance.  For the badness of their provision I had no remedy, but I sent on board a carpenter and six seamen to assist in pumping and working the ship.

On the eighth of November, being in latitude 25 deg. 52’ S. longitude 39 deg. 38’, we sounded with 160 fathom, but had no ground:  On the ninth, having seen a great number of birds, called albatrosses, we sounded again with 180 fathom, but had no ground.