The bay, or road of Fayal, is situated at the east end of the isle, before the Villa de Horta, and facing the west end of Pico.  It is two miles broad, and three quarters of a mile deep, and hath a semi-circular form.  The depth of water is from twenty to ten and even six fathoms, a sandy bottom, except near the shore, and particularly near the S.W. head, off which the bottom is rocky, also without the line which joins the two points of the bay, so that it is not safe to anchor far out.  The bearing before mentioned, taken when at anchor, will direct any one to the best ground.  It is by no means a bad road, but the winds most to be apprehended, are those which blow from between the S.S.W. and S.E.; the former is not so dangerous as the latter, because, with it, you can always get to sea.  Besides this road, there is a small cove round the S.W. point, called Porto Pierre, in which, I am told, a ship or two may lie in tolerable safety, and where they sometimes heave small vessels down.

A Portuguese captain told me, that about half a league from the road in the direction of S.E., in a line between it and the south side of Pico, lies a sunken rock, over which is twenty-two feet water, and on which the sea breaks in hard gales from the south.  He also assured me, that of all the shoals that are laid down in our charts and pilot-books about these isles, not one has any existence but the one between the islands of St Michael and St Mary, called Hormingan.  This account may be believed, without relying entirely upon it.  He further informed me, that it is forty-five leagues from Fayal to the island of Flores; and that there runs a strong tide between Fayal and Pico, the flood setting to the N.E. and the ebb to the S.W., but that, out at sea, the direction is E. and W. Mr Wales having observed the times of high and low water by the shore, concluded that it must be high water at the full and change, about twelve o’clock, and the water riseth about four or five feet.

The distance between Fayal and Flores was confirmed by Mr Rebiers, lieutenant of the French frigate, who told me, that after being by estimation two leagues due south of Flores, they made forty-four leagues on a S.E. by E. course by compass, to St Catherine’s Point on Fayal.

I found the latitude of the ship at anchor 38 deg. 31’ 55” N.
in the bay

By a mean of seventeen sets of lunar 28 24 30 W.
observations, and reduced to the bay
by the watch, the longitude was made

By a mean of six sets after leaving it, 28 53 22
and reduced back by the watch
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Longitude by observation 28 38 56
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Ditto, by the watch 28 55 45

Error of the watch on our arrival at 16 26-1/2
Portsmouth
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True longitude by the watch 28 39 18-1/2
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