nterruption, or sight of any danger, to the 19th [WEDNESDAY 19
OCTOBER 1803] at noon, when the latitude was 10 deg. 53' south, and longitude
by time keeper 147 deg. 6' east; the current had set above 3/4 of a mile an
hour to the N. 60 deg. W., and we had every day seen boobies, noddies, tropic
birds, and some gulls. At four in the afternoon the course was altered
one point more west, in order to make the Eastern Fields (Atlas, Plate
XIII), whose extent to the southward, not having been seen in the
Investigator, I wished now to ascertain. The breakers came in sight at
eight next morning [THURSDAY 20 OCTOBER 1803], and we hauled up to pass
round their south end; but the wind being scant for going to windward of
all, and the small gap before seen in the middle appearing to be passable
for the Cumberland, we bore up for it. The depth at less than a quarter
of a mile off was 40 fathoms, then 6, 7, 4 in the centre of the opening,
8, and no ground with the hand line; this front reef seeming to be a mere
ledge of coral, which extended N. N. E. and S. S. W.; and that part of
the opening in it where the sea did not break, is about one mile wide.
Immediately on getting through, altitudes were taken for the time keeper;
and the longitude, reduced to the north-east extremity of the Eastern
Fields, was 145 deg. 441/2' east, or about 1' less than what had been found in
the Investigator from Broad Sound. In steering W. N. W., two small
patches of reef were left to the south and one to the north, about five
miles from the opening; other reefs then came in sight ahead and on each
bow; and after sounding in 34 fathoms coral sand, and observing the
latitude 10 deg. 2 1/3', we passed through a narrow channel between them,
having no ground at 7 fathoms. At one o'clock, the western extremity of
these reefs bore S. 16 deg. E. two miles, and others were seen in the horizon
extending from N. W. to W. S. W.; we passed close round the north end of
these; but the single breaker laid down the year before, and which should
lie about five miles to the N. N. E., was not perceived. At three
o'clock, in steering westward, the last reefs were out of sight astern;
and nothing more had been seen at seven, when we hauled to the wind for
the night. An amplitude observed at sunset, with the schooner's head W.
by S., gave 6 deg. 2' east variation.

FRIDAY 21 OCTOBER 1803

We tacked every two or three hours, until daylight; and then bore away W.
S. W. by compass