Tuesday 26.

Fresh breezes from the south-east with fine weather.  In the morning we caught another booby so that Providence appeared to be relieving our wants in an extraordinary manner.  Towards noon we passed a great many pieces of the branches of trees, some of which appeared to have been no long time in the water.  I had a good observation for the latitude, and found our situation to be in 13 degrees 41 minutes south; longitude by account from Tofoa 37 degrees 13 minutes west; course south 85 degrees west, 112 miles.  The people were overjoyed at the addition to their dinner which was distributed in the same manner as on the preceding evening, giving the blood to those who were the most in want of food.

To make the bread a little savoury most of the people frequently dipped it in salt water; but I generally broke mine into small pieces and ate it in my allowance of water, out of a coconut shell with a spoon, economically avoiding to take too large a piece at a time, so that I was as long at dinner as if it had been a much more plentiful meal.

The weather was now serene, which nevertheless was not without its inconveniences, for we began to feel distress of a different kind from that which we had lately been accustomed to suffer.  The heat of the sun was so powerful that several of the people were seized with a languor and faintness which made life indifferent.  We were so fortunate as to catch two boobies in the evening:  their stomachs contained several flying-fish and small cuttlefish, all of which I saved to be divided for dinner the next day.

Wednesday 27.

A fresh breeze at east-south-east with fair weather.  We passed much driftwood this forenoon and saw many birds; I therefore did not hesitate to pronounce that we were near the reefs of New Holland.  From my recollection of Captain Cook’s survey of this coast I considered the direction of it to be north-west, and I was therefore satisfied that, with the wind to the southward of east, I could always clear any dangers.

At noon I observed in latitude 13 degrees 26 minutes south; course since yesterday north 82 degrees west, distance 109 miles; longitude made 39 degrees 4 minutes.  After writing my account I divided the two birds with their entrails and the contents of their maws into 18 portions and, as the prize was a very valuable one it was divided as before, by calling out Who shall have this? so that today, with the allowance of a 25th of a pound of bread at breakfast, and another at dinner, with the proportion of water, I was happy to see that every person thought he had feasted.

In the evening we saw a gannet; and the clouds remained so fixed in the west that I had little doubt of our being near the land.  The people, after taking their allowance of water for supper, amused themselves with conversing on the probability of what we should find.

Thursday 28.

At one in the morning the person at the helm heard the sound of breakers, and I no sooner lifted up my head than I saw them close under our lee, not more than a quarter of a mile distant from us.  I immediately hauled on a wind to the north-north-east and in ten minutes time we could neither see nor hear them.