I now reckoned we were in latitude 60 deg.  S., and farther I did not intend to go, unless I observed some certain signs of soon meeting with land.  For it would not have been prudent in me to have spent my time in penetrating to the south, when it was at least as probable that a large tract of land might be found near Cape Circumcision.  Besides, I was tired of these high southern latitudes, where nothing was to be found but ice and thick fogs.  We had now a long hollow swell from the west, a strong indication that there was no land in that direction; so that I think I may venture to assert that the extensive coast, laid down in Mr Dalrymple’s chart of the ocean between Africa and America, and the Gulph of St Sebastian, do not exist.

At seven o’clock in the evening, the fog receding from us a little, gave us a sight of an ice island, several penguins and some snow peterels; we sounded, but found no ground at one hundred and forty fathoms.  The fog soon returning, we spent the night in making boards over that space which we had, in some degree, made ourselves acquainted with in the day.

At eight in the morning of the 28th, we stood to the east, with a gentle gale at north; the weather began to clear up; and we found the sea strewed with large and small ice; several penguins, snow peterels, and other birds were seen, and some whales.  Soon after we had sun-shine, but the air was cold; the mercury in the thermometer stood generally at thirty-five, but at noon it was 37 deg.; the latitude by observation was 60 deg. 4’ S., longitude 29 deg. 23’ W.

We continued to stand to the east till half-past two o’clock, p.m., when we fell in, all at once, with a vast number of large ice-islands, and a sea strewed with loose ice.  The weather too was become thick and hazy, attended with drizzling rain and sleet, which made it the more dangerous to stand in among the ice.  For this reason we tacked and stood back to the west, with the wind at north.  The ice-islands, which at this time surrounded us, were nearly all of equal height, and shewed a flat even surface; but they were of various extent, some being two or three miles in circuit.  The loose ice was what had broken from these isles.

Next morning, the wind falling and veering to S.W., we steered N.E.; but this coarse was soon intercepted by numerous ice-islands; and, having but very little wind, we were obliged to steer such courses as carried us the clearest of them; so that we hardly made any advance, one way or other, during the whole day.  Abundance of whales and penguins were about us all the time; and the weather fair, but dark and gloomy.

At midnight the wind began to freshen at N.N.E., with which we stood to the N.W., till six in the morning of the 30th, when the wind veering to N.N.W., we tacked and stood to N.E., and soon after sailed through a good deal of loose ice, and passed two large islands.  Except a short interval of clear weather about nine o’clock, it was continually foggy, with either sleet or snow.  At noon we were, by our reckoning, in the latitude of 59 deg. 3O’ S., longitude 29 deg. 24’ W.