Here we continued till Monday the 25th, when both the Dolphin and Tamar having taken out of the store-ship as much provision as they could stow, I gave the master of her orders to return to England as soon as he could get ready, and with the Tamar sailed from Port Famine, intending to push through the streight before the season should be too far advanced.[28] At noon we were three leagues distant from Saint Anne’s Point, which bore N.W. and three or four miles distant from Point Shutup, which bore S.S.W.  Point Shutup bears from Saint Anne’s Point S. 1/2 E. by the compass, and they are about four or five leagues asunder.  Between these two points there is a flat shoal, which runs from Port Famine before Sedger river, and three or four miles to the southward.

[Footnote 28:  “At taking our leave of the store-ship, our boatswain, and all that were sick on board the Dolphin and Tamar, obtained leave to return in her to England; the commodore in the mean time openly declaring to the men in general, that if any of them were averse to proceeding on the voyage, they had free liberty to return; an offer which only one of our men accepted.”]

We steered S.S.W. with little wind along the shore, from Point Shutup towards Cape Forward; and about three o’clock in the afternoon we passed by the French ship, which, we saw in a little cove, about two leagues to the southward of Point Shutup.  She had hauled her stern close into the woods, and we could see large piles of the wood which she had cut down, lying on each side of her; so that I made no doubt of her having been sent out to procure that necessary for their new settlement, though I could not conceive why they should have come so far into the strait for that purpose.  After my return to England, I learnt that this vessel was the Eagle, commanded by M. Bougainville, and that her business in the strait was, as I conjectured, to cut wood for the French settlement in the Falkland’s Islands.  From Cape Shutup to Cape Forward, the course by compass is S.W. by S. and the distance is seven leagues.  At eight o’clock in the evening, Cape Forward bore N.W.1/2 W. and was distant about a mile, and we brought-to for the night.  This part of the strait is about eight miles over, and off the cape we had forty fathom within half a cable’s length of the shore.  About four o’clock in the morning we made sail, and at eight, having had light airs almost quite round the compass, Cape Forward bore N.E. by E. distant about four miles; and Cape Holland W.N.W.1/2 W. distant about five leagues.  At ten we had fresh gales at W.N.W. and at intervals sudden squalls, so violent as to oblige us to clue all up every time they came on.  We kept, however, working to windward, and looking out for an anchoring-place, endeavouring at the same time to reach a bay about two leagues to the westward of Cape Forward.  At five o’clock I sent a boat with an officer into this bay to sound, who finding it fit for our purpose, we entered it, and about six o’clock anchored in nine fathom:  Cape Forward bore E.1/2 S. distant five miles; a small island which lies in the middle of the bay, and is about a mile distant from the shore, W. by S. distant about half a mile; and a rivulet of fresh water N.W. by W. distant three quarters of a mile.