e point.

The shore of the bight is sandy and low, and trends from Point Avoid
about five miles to the east; after which it takes a more southern
direction and becomes higher, and the projecting parts of the waving
coast line are cliffy. Behind the shore the land rises to a moderate
height, is destitute of vegetation, and of a yellow colour, but whether
from the surface being of bare rock, or of sand, could not be
distinguished.

In stretching off again, with the wind at east-south-east, we passed near
to a small circular reef, lying nine miles from Point Avoid and six from
the nearest shore. Azimuths taken at this time with three compasses on
the binnacle, and the ship's head at south (magnetic), gave the mean
variation 1 deg. 12' east; but with the surveying compass alone it was 1 deg. 39'
east, which is what I allowed in the survey. On the preceding day the two
guns upon the quarter-deck, nearest to the binnacle, had been struck down
into the after-hold, from a persuasion that the differences so often
found in the variations and bearings when on different tacks must arise
from some iron placed too near the compasses. Strict search had been
repeatedly made for sail needles, marline-spikes, or other implements of
iron which might have been left in or about the binnacle, but I could fix
on nothing unless it were the guns; for it is to be observed that,
notwithstanding the constancy of the differences, the idea of any
regularly acting cause to derange the needle had not yet fixed itself in
my mind. The perfection to which naval science had arrived did not allow
me to suppose, that if a constant and unavoidable attraction existed in
ships, it would not have been found out, and its laws ascertained; yet no
longer than three days before, differences had been observed sufficient,
one would think, to have convinced any man that they were produced by
some regular cause. Off Point Drummond, about fifteen leagues to the
north of where the variation 1 deg. 39' east was observed with the ship's
head at south, both azimuths and an amplitude had been taken with the
same compass. The first gave 1 deg. 33' _west_, the head being
south-east-by-east; and after we had tacked, and the head was
south-west-by-west, the amplitude gave 3 deg. 56' _east_! I did not yet see
that as the ship's head was as much on the east side of the magnetic
meridian in one case as it was to the west in the other, so was the
variation as much too far west then