pose we stood
off and on during the night, with the wind from the southward.

SATURDAY 20 FEBRUARY 1802

At daylight of the 20th the hill on the east side of the bight bore N.
68 deg. E. five or six miles, and an island, named _Isle Williams_, was seen
to lie two miles from it to the south-east. We steered north-west soon
afterward, up the bight; but in an hour were able to see the land all
round, and that this place, which, I called SLEAFORD BAY, was dangerous
with the wind at south-east, as it was then blowing. We therefore braced
up, to work out; and at noon, our situation, with that of the surrounding
lands, was as follows:

Latitude, observed to the north and south, 35 deg. 2' 33"
Longitude by time keepers, 135 44
Liguana Isle, the centre nearly, N. 67 W.
Cape Wiles, centre of the cliffs, N. 38 W.
Hill on the east side of Sleaford Bay, N. 77 E.
Isle Williams, E. 2 N.

In the afternoon the wind favoured us by veering to south-by-west, and
the passage between the projection of the hill and Isle Williams, (Atlas
Plate XVII. View 8.) seeming to be clear, we steered through it with good
soundings, the least being 12 fathoms, upon rippling water. Three miles
further the main land formed a point, and took the uncommon direction of
N. 15 deg. W.; but to the eastward, there was a large piece of land, whether
island or main we could not tell, and several small islands lay between.
The opening was four miles wide; and we steered into it, passing through
ripplings of tide with irregular soundings. No land could be seen to the
north-east, but the night was coming on; and as the eastern land
sheltered us from the present wind, we ran within half a mile of the
shore and anchored in 31/2 fathoms. The master was sent to sound about the
ship; and finding we had not a sufficient depth for swinging toward the
shore, the anchor was tripped and let go further out, in 7 fathoms, on a
sandy bottom. No part of the eastern land was visible beyond the bearing
of N. 76 deg. E., distant one mile and a half; and the furthest extreme of
what we could be certain was main land bore N. 17 deg. W.

A tide from the north-eastward, apparently the ebb, ran more than one
mile an hour; which was the more remarkable from no set of tide, worthy
to be noticed, having hitherto been observed upon this coast. No land
could be seen in the direction from whence it cam