On the 15th, by an observation of the moon’s distance from the star aquila, our longitude was 171 deg. 16’ east, the latitude was 50 deg. 45’ south, and the variation of the compass 16 deg. 20’ east; longitude by the time-keeper 171 deg. 32’ east, and by account 172 deg. 10’ east.  From this time to the 22d, we had light and variable winds, sometimes from the south and south-east, and sometimes from the northward, with moist and hazy weather.

On the 22d, the wind inclined from the westward, and the weather became fair; we had this day a set of distances of the sun and moon, which gave our longitude 182 deg. 46’ east, the time-keeper 182 deg. 37’ east, and the account 184 deg. 10’ east; the latitude 51 deg. 03’ south; the variation was now 13 deg. 45’ east, and the thermometer 48 deg..  For three successive days we had lunar observations, by which it appeared that the reckoning a few days before had been more than a degree and a half to the eastward of the observations and time-keeper; but by our last distances of the sun and moon (26th) the ship was gaining on the account; these differences seem wholly to proceed from the sea, occasioned by the prevailing winds for the time; the easterly variation was decreasing, being now only 11 deg. 00’ east, in latitude 52 deg. 42’ south, and longitude 196 deg. 11’ east.  We now very frequently heard the divers in the night, and as often saw them in the day; it is really wonderful how these birds get from or to the land, at such an immense distance from it as from 800 to 1000 leagues:  they undoubtedly lay their eggs, and hatch them on shore, and yet we plainly perceived that those we met were of the penguin kind, and could not fly:  from the slow progress such a bird can make in the water, it might be supposed that it would take them many years (were instinct to point out the direct and shortest course for them) before they could possibly reach any land, unless there are islands in these seas, and not far from our track, which have not yet been discovered.

I endeavoured, in sailing from New Zealand to Cape Horn, to keep as much as possible in a parallel between the tracks of the Resolution and Adventure; so that if any island lay between the parallels in which these ships sailed, we might have a chance of falling in with them.  We have bad very variable weather for some days past, with equally variable winds, and a confused jumble of a sea, which the very frequent shifting of the wind occasioned.

On the 2d of November, by a lunar observation, we were in longitude 214 deg. 27’ east; the time-keeper gave 214 deg. 19’ east, and by account 213 deg. 02’ east; the latitude 55 deg. 18’ south, the variation was here 11 deg. 00’ east, and the height of the thermometer was 50 deg..  From the 2d to the 6th, we had the winds from north by west to north-north-east:  on the 6th and 7th, we had very good observations for the longitude by the sun and moon; the former gave 223 deg. 57’ east, and the latter 227 deg. 58’ east; the longitude by account was 226 deg. 20’ east, the latitude 56 deg. 12’ south:  the variation increased again, being in this situation 12 deg. 20’ east, thermometer 46 deg..