e the
ship's being first sheathed, which was now more than eight
years.

On the 6th, the weather cleared up, and both Mr. Bradley and
myself had a few distances of the sun and moon, by which our
longitude was 157 deg. 10' east, by the time-keeper 156 deg. 55'
east, and by account 156 deg. 17' east; the latitude 34 deg. 49'
south; variation per Azimuth 11 deg. 40' east. At noon, the wind
got round to east and east by north, with which I steered
south-south-east; still favouring our endeavours to get to the
southward; it next came to north-east and north, and in latitude
40 deg. 33' south, it came to north-west, but the weather still
continued squally and unsettled. As the weather began now to be
rather cold, and as in the track I meant to prosecute my voyage
by I might expect to have it considerably colder, and
consequently the ship's company would require a shift of
cloathing, slops were served to all who stood in need of them.

On the 9th, we were near as far to the southward as Van
Diemen's Land, or South Cape of New Holland; and the wind being
apparently settled in the south-west quarter, I steered a course
for the south cape of New Zealand. From Port Jackson to Van
Diemen's Land we had run parallel to the coast, at the distance
of 60 leagues from it, and have not seen any thing; so that we
may venture to say, that there are no islands lie off that part
of the coast, at the above distance from it. On the afternoon of
this day (9th) we had several good setts of distances of the sun
and moon, by which our longitude was 157 deg. 26' east, by the
time-keeper 157 deg. 19' east, and by account 157 deg. 48' east;
the latitude 43 deg. 30' south; the thermometer was now 57 deg..

On the 12th, we passed the south cape of New Zealand, but the
weather being very hazy and squally, we did not attempt to make
it, but kept a degree and a half to the southward of it; here we
met with vast numbers of birds of various kinds, mostly aquatic,
such as albatrosses, pentada birds, divers, peterels, and a
variety of gulls; some of a kind I had not before seen during the
voyage, very large, of a dark brown or mouse colour; and another
sort not quite so large, with a white body, dark wings, and the
head of a light blue or lead colour: much sea-weed was also seen
here in very large patches.

We now had the wind fresh from the north-west quarter, with
frequent squalls, attended with rain, and the weather cold. We
found the variation of t