w decreased to seventeen
fathom, and by noon we had no more than thirteen, though we were seven
leagues from the land, which extended from S. by W. to W.N.W. Our
latitude at this time was 24 deg. 28' S. For a few days past we had seen
several of the sea-birds called boobies, not having met with any of them
before; last night a small flock of them passed the ship, and went away
to the N.W.; and in the morning, from about half an hour before
sun-rise, to half an hour after, flights of them were continually coming
from the N.N.W. and flying to the S.S.E. nor was one of them seen to fly
in any other direction; we therefore conjectured that there was a
lagoon, river, or inlet of shallow water, in the bottom of the deep bay,
to the southward of us, whither these birds resorted to feed in the day,
and that not far to the northward there were some islands to which they
repaired in the night. To this bay I gave the name of _Hervey's Bay_, in
honour of Captain Hervey. In the afternoon we stood in for the land,
steering S.W. with a gentle breeze at S.E. till four o'clock, when,
being in latitude 24 deg. 36', about two leagues from the shore, and having
nine fathom water, we bore away along the coast N.W. by W. and at the
same time could see land extending to the S.S.E. about eight leagues.
Near the sea the land is very low, but within there are some lofty
hills, all thickly clothed with, wood. While we were running along the
shore, we shallowed our water from nine to seven fathom, and at one time
we had but six, which determined us to anchor for the night.

At six in the morning we weighed, with a gentle breeze from the
southward, and steered N.W. 1/4 W. edging in for the land till we got
within two miles of it, with water from seven to eleven fathom; we then
steered N.N.W. as the land lay, and at noon, our latitude was 24 deg. 19'.
We continued in the same course, at the same distance, with from twelve
fathom to seven, till five in the evening, when we were abreast of the
south point of a large open bay, in which I intended to anchor. During
this course, we discovered with our glasses that the land was covered
with palm-nut trees, which we had not seen from the time of our leaving
the islands within the tropic; we also saw two men walking along the
shore, who did not condescend to take the least notice of us. In the
evening, having hauled close upon a wind, and made two or three trips,
we anchored about eight o'clock in five fatho