After three hours calm we got a breeze at S.E. by E., and having made a short trip to south, stood in for the land; the most advanced point of which, that we had in sight, bore east, distant ten leagues.  This is a lofty promontory, lying E.S.E, nineteen leagues from Gilbert isle, and situated in latitude 55 deg. 26’ S, longitude 70 deg. 25’ W. Viewed from the situation we now were in, it terminated in two high towers; and, within them, a hill shaped like a sugar-loaf.  This wild rock, therefore, obtained the name of York Minster.  Two leagues to the westward of this head appeared a large inlet, the west point of which we fetched in with by nine o’clock, when we tacked in forty-one fathoms water, half a league from the shore; to the westward of this inlet was another, with several islands lying in the entrance.

During the night between the 19th and 20th we had little wind easterly, which in the morning veered to N.E. and N.N.E., but it was too faint to be of use; and at ten we had a calm, when we observed the ship to drive from off the shore out to sea.  We had made the same observation the day before.  This must have been occasioned by a current; and the melting of the snow increasing, the inland waters will cause a stream to run out of most of these inlets.  At noon we observed in latitude 55 deg. 39’ 30” S., York Minster then bearing N. 15 deg.  E., distant five leagues; and Round-hill, just peeping above the horizon, which we judged to belong to the isles of St Ildefonso, E. 25 deg.  S., ten or eleven leagues distant.  At ten o’clock, a breeze springing up at E. by S., I took this opportunity to stand in for the land, being desirous of going into one of the many ports which seemed open to receive us, in order to take a view of the country, and to recruit our stock of wood and water.

In standing in for an opening, which appeared on the east side of York Minster, we had forty, thirty-seven, fifty, and sixty fathoms water, a bottom of small stones and shells.  When we had the last soundings, we were nearly in the middle between the two points that form the entrance to the inlet, which we observed to branch into two arms, both of them lying in nearly north, and disjoined by an high rocky point.  We stood for the eastern branch as being clear of islets; and after passing a black rocky one, lying without the point just mentioned, we sounded, and found no bottom with a line of an hundred and seventy fathoms.  This was altogether unexpected, and a circumstance that would not have been regarded if the breeze had continued; but at this time it fell calm, so that it was not possible to extricate ourselves from this disagreeable situation.  Two boats were hoisted out, and sent a-head to tow; but they would have availed little, had not a breeze sprung up about eight o’clock at S.W., which put it in my power either to stand out to sea, or up the inlet.  Prudence seemed to point out the former, but the desire of finding a good port, and of learning something of the country, getting the better of every other consideration, I resolved to stand in; and, as night was approaching, our safety depended on getting to an anchor.  With this view we continued to sound, but always had an unfathomable depth.