After steering S.W. by W. six miles, we had shoal water on our starboard bow, which I sent the yawl to sound, and at the same time hauled off upon a wind till four o’clock, and though during that time we had run six miles, we had not deepened our water an inch.  I then edged away S.W. four miles more; but finding it still shoal water, I brought-to and called the boats aboard.  At this time, being between three and four leagues from the shore, and the yawl having found only three fathom water in the place to which I had sent her to sound, I hauled off close upon a wind, and weathered the shoal about half a mile.

Between one and two o’clock we passed a bay or inlet, before which lies a small island that seems to shelter it from the southerly winds; but I very much doubt whether there is sufficient depth of water behind it for shipping.  I could not attempt to determine the question, because the S.E. trade-wind blows right into the bay, and we had not as yet had any breeze from the land.

We stretched off to sea till twelve o’clock, when we were about eleven leagues from the land, and had deepened our water to twenty-nine fathom.  We now tacked and stood in till five in the morning, when, being in six fathom and a half, we tacked and laid the head of the vessel off till daylight, when we saw the land, bearing N.W. by W., at about the distance of four leagues.  We now made sail, and steered first W.S.W., then W. by S.; but coming into five fathom and a half, we hauled off S.W. till we deepened our water to eight fathom, and then kept away W. by S. and W., having nine fathom, and the land just in sight from the deck; we judged it to be about four leagues distant, and it was still very low and woody.  Great quantities of the brown scum continued to appear upon the water, and the sailors having given up the notion of its being spawn, found a new name for it, and called it sea saw-dust.  At noon, our latitude, by observation, was 8 deg. 30’ S., our longitude 222 deg. 34’ W.; and Saint Bartholomew’s Isle bore N. 69 E., distant seventy-four miles.

As all this coast appears to have been very minutely examined by the Dutch, and as our track will appear by the chart, it is sufficient to say, that we continued our course to the northward with very shallow water, upon a bank of mud, at such a distance from the shore as that it could scarcely be seen from the ship till the third of September.  During this time we made many attempts to get near enough to go on shore, but without success; and having now lost six days of fair wind, at a time when we knew the south-east monsoon to be nearly at an end, we began to be impatient of farther delay, and determined to run the ship in as near to the shore as possible, and then land with the pinnace, while she kept plying off and on to examine the produce of the country, and the disposition of the inhabitants.  For the two last days we had, early in the morning, a light breeze from the shore,