From those islands we steered to the north-west and west-north-west, with light and variable winds, and sometimes squally and very unsettled weather, with a disagreeable head-sea, against which we made very slow progress.  On the 8th, at noon, by a considerable number of very good lunar distances, our longitude was found to be 144 deg. 13’ east, which agreed so very near with our account carried on from the last observations, that I think the longitude of the different lands, as marked in this Journal, will not be found very erroneous.  In this part of our passage, we saw many very large trees floating about the sea.

We now found the ship had set fourteen or fifteen miles a day to the northward more than the log gave; and in the parallel of 4 deg. 00’ north, or nearly, we found, that for the space of eight days, from the 19th, we had been set to the eastward at the rate of thirty-nine miles in the twenty-four hours; and there was much reason to fear, that from the next observations for the longitude which we might have, we should have the mortification to find, that this easterly current continued; for at that time, (the 28th of June,) the wind seemed to be set in from west-north-west to west-south-west.

On the 30th died William Phillips, seaman.

On the 5th of July, by observations of the sun and moon, we were in longitude 140 deg. 32’ east, which was 10 deg. 10’ eastward of our account, and the wind continued fixed from the westward.  On the 11th of July, necessity obliged us to reduce the allowance of water; the whole allowance now to each man for all purposes, cooking, drinking, etc. was two purser’s quarts for twenty-four hours, and the weather was exceedingly sultry, which made it the more distressing.

On the 13th, I found it necessary, from the very unfavourable prospect before us, to call together my own officers, and the master of the ship, and to consult upon the most eligible plan to be pursued, for enabling us to reach some port or settlement, where it might be possible to obtain some supply of provisions and water, sufficient for the relief of one hundred and twenty-one men, the number now on board this small vessel.  The general opinion was, that it would be highly imprudent in the present reduced state of our provisions and water, to persevere any longer in an attempt to reach the strait of Macassar, in the face of fresh westerly winds and a strong easterly current; particularly, in a vessel so very ill constructed for working to windward; and what rendered it still more necessary to give up such an attempt in our situation was, that the master of the ship, (who had been a number of years in the Dutch service among the Molucca Islands) assured me, in the presence of some of the officers, that he did not know of any one place in our route, short of Batavia, where any supply for our numbers could be had.  The quantity of provisions now on board, at half allowance, was a supply for about ten weeks, and the water at about two purser’s quarts a man per day, was a supply for the same time, provided we had no leakage.