On the 27th, in the latitude of 25 deg. 29’, longitude 24 deg. 54’, we discovered a sail to the west standing after us.  She was a snow; and the colours she shewed, either a Portuguese or St George’s ensign, the distance being too great to distinguish the one from the other, and I did not choose to wait to get nearer, or to speak with her.

The wind now began to be variable.  It first veered to the north, where it remained two days with fair weather.  Afterwards it came round by the west to the south, where it remained two days longer, and, after a few hours calm, sprung up at S.W.  But here it remained not long, before it veered to S.E.E. and to the north of east; blew fresh, and by squalls, with showers of rain.

1772 October

With these winds we advanced but slowly; and, without meeting with anything remarkable till the 11th of October, when, at 6h 24m 12s, by Mr Kendal’s watch, the moon rose about four digits eclipsed, and soon after we prepared to observe the end of the eclipse, as follows, viz.

h. m. s.

By me at 6 53 51 with a common refractor. 
By Mr Forster 6 55 23
By Mr Wales 6 54 57 quadrant telescope. 
By Mr Pickersgill 6 55 30 three feet refractor. 
By Mr Gilert 6 53 24 naked eye. 
By Mr Hervey 6 55 34 quadrant telescope.
                             ---------
Mean 6 54 46-1/2 by the watch. 
Watch slow of apparent time 0 3 59
                             ---------
Apparent time 6 58 45-1/2 end of the eclipse. 
Ditto 7 25 0 at Greenwich.
                             ---------
Dif. of longitude 0 26 14-1/2 == 6 deg. 33’ 30”

The longitude observed by Mr Wales, was

By the  and Aquilae  5 deg. 51’ |
By the  and Adebaran 6 deg. 35  |Mean      6 deg. 13’ 0”
By Mr Kendal’s watch                                 6 deg. 53  7/8

The next morning, having but little wind, we hoisted a boat out, to try if there was any current, but found none.  From this time to the 16th, we had the wind between the north and east, a gentle gale.  We had for some time ceased to see any of the birds before-mentioned; and were now accompanied by albatrosses, pintadoes, sheerwaters, &c., and a small grey peterel, less than a pigeon.  It has a whitish belly, and grey back, with a black stroke across from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other.  These birds sometimes visited us in great flights.  They are, as well as the pintadoes, southern birds; and are, I believe, never seen within the tropics, or north of the Line.

On the 17th, we saw a sail to the N.W., standing to the eastward, which hoisted Dutch colours.  She kept us company for two days, but the third we outsailed her.