At noon it was almost calm, no sun to be seen, and some of us shivering with cold.  Course since yesterday west by north distance 89 miles; latitude by account 14 degrees 33 minutes south; longitude made 13 degrees 9 minutes west.  The direction of our course was to pass to the northward of the New Hebrides.

The wet weather continued and in the afternoon the wind came from the southward, blowing fresh in squalls.  As there was no prospect of getting our clothes dried I recommended to everyone to strip and wring them through the salt water, by which means they received a warmth that while wet with rain they could not have.

This afternoon we saw a kind of fruit on the water which Nelson told me was the Barringtonia of Forster and, as I saw the same again in the morning, and some men-of-war birds, I was led to believe that we were not far from land.

We continued constantly shipping seas and baling, and were very wet and cold in the night; but I could not afford the allowance of rum at daybreak.

Wednesday 13.

At noon I had a sight of the sun, latitude 14 degrees 17 minutes south.  Course west by north 79 miles; longitude made 14 degrees 28 minutes west.  All this day we were constantly shipping water and suffered much cold and shiverings in the night.

Thursday 14.

Fresh gales at south-east and gloomy weather with rain and a high sea.  At six in the morning we saw land from south-west by south eight leagues to north-west by west three-quarters west six leagues, which soon after appeared to be four islands, one of them much larger than the others, and all of them high and remarkable.  At noon we discovered a small island and some rocks bearing north-west by north four leagues, and another island west eight leagues, so that the whole were six in number; the four I had first seen bearing from south half east to south-west by south; our distance three leagues from the nearest island.  My latitude observed was 13 degrees 29 minutes south, and longitude by account from Tofoa 15 degrees 49 minutes west; course since yesterday noon north 63 degrees west distance 89 miles.  At four in the afternoon we passed the westernmost island.

Friday 15.

At one in the morning another island was discovered bearing west-north-west five leagues distance, and at eight o’clock we saw it for the last time bearing north-east seven leagues.  A number of gannets, boobies, and men-of-war birds were seen.

These islands lie between the latitude of 13 degrees 16 minutes and 14 degrees 10 minutes south:  their longitude according to my reckoning 15 degrees 51 minutes to 17 degrees 6 minutes west from the island Tofoa.* The largest island I judged to be about twenty leagues in circuit, the others five or six.  The easternmost is the smallest island and most remarkable, having a high sugar loaf hill.

(Footnote.  By making a proportional allowance for the error afterwards found in the dead reckoning I estimate the longitude of these islands to be from 167 degrees 17 minutes east to 168 degrees 34 minutes east from Greenwich.)