On Thursday the 12th do.  The wind E.S.E. as before...At noon we were in Lat. 10 deg. 2’, so that I find we are farther to southward as would accord with our estimation and our courses kept, on which account I believe the current must have driven us a good deal to S.S.E..  In the afternoon the sky was overcast, the wind E.S.E. and S.E. by E. with a light breeze; we sailed to S. by W. with our mainsails set.  Towards the evening the water became all of a sudden very smooth and of a pale colour; after sunset we cast the lead in 40 fathom good anchoring ground, fine sand, but could see no land:  we took in our foresail and sailed in the night with the mainsail only to avoid press of sail.  We estimated ourselves to have sailed about 12 miles on a general S.W. by S. course during the last 24 hours.  In the night the wind was E. by S., E.S.E. and S.E. by E. with fine, lovely, clear weather and a top-gallant gale; throughout the night our average course was S., we cast the lead now and then in 42, 39, 38, 36 and 25 fathom good anchoring-ground.

On Friday the 13th do., the wind was nearly S.E., with a top-gallant gale and smooth water; course S.S.W. and S. by W.; the water was very pale in colour, but we could see no land; the weather was lovely and clear; at noon we found ourselves to be in 10 deg. 50’ S.L.

Shortly after noon we cast the lead in 32 fathom good anchoring-ground; at four glasses in the afternoon we saw the land S.E. by S. of us, at about 6 miles’ distance from us it was a low-lying coast with small hills; about 6 miles farther to westward we also saw land, not connected with the first land, but upwards of three miles distant from the same.

Towards the evening it fell a calm; at sunset there was a faint breeze from the S.S.E.; we made out the extremity of the land to be at about 3 miles’ distance S.E. by S. of us; we were still in 32 fathom good anchoring-ground; we accordingly went over to eastward, but when shortly before the setting of the watch, the wind went down still more and began to turn to the N.W., we dropped anchor in 29 fathom good anchoring-ground.

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On Saturday the 14th do. the current began to set to the S.E. in the morning, and the wind to blow hard from the E.S.E., so that we could not carry mainsails then; we weighed anchor and set sail on a South and South-by-east course.  The water gradually shallowed, and seeing that we could not make the easternmost land, we ran to the westernmost, where we came to anchor at about a musket-shot’s distance from the land in 10 fathom good anchoring-ground.  Close along the shore the land is somewhat rock and reefy here; this land extends here about 3 miles S.E. by S. and N.W. by N., both slightly more to South and North.  In the afternoon we sent out our small boat to take soundings close inshore; on returning the men reported that until they came to the reefs they had found no less than 31/2 fathom good anchoring-ground.