Meeting some Dutch ships.
Besides a great number of fishing-boats, we saw in the morning four ships, of which two stood the same course as ourselves, and displayed Dutch colours. Towards three o’clock we joined one of them, and spoke with her; she was a snow from Malacca, bound for Japara. Her consort, a three-masted ship, likewise coming from Malacca, was bound for Saramang. They soon came to an anchor upon the coast. We ranged it, at the distance of about three quarters of a league, till four o’clock in the evening. We then steered W. by N. in order not to get deeper into this gulph, and to pass on the off side of a coral-bank, which is about five or six leagues off shore. As far as this part, the coast of Java is not much elevated near the sea-shore, but in the interior parts we perceived high mountains. At half past five o’clock, the middle of the isles of Carimon-Java bore N. 2° W. about eight leagues.
Course along Java.
We stood W. by N. till four o’clock in the morning, then west till noon. The day before we had sounded in nine and ten fathom near the shore; we deepened our water by seven o’clock in the evening; when we found 30, and in the night 32, 34, and 35 fathom. At sunrise we saw no lands, only some ships; and, as usual, an infinite number of fishing-boats. Unluckily it was a calm almost the whole 25th, till five o’clock in the evening. I say unluckily, by so much the more, as it was necessary we should have sight of the land before night, in order to direct our course in consequence thereof, between Point Indermay, and the Isles of Rachit, and afterwards to keep towards the offing of some rocks under water, which are to the westward of them. From noon, when we had observed in 6° 26′ of latitude, we steered W. and W. by S. but the sun set before we could see the land. Some of our people thought, but without any certainty, that they perceived the blue mountains, which are forty leagues off Batavia. From six o’clock in the evening to midnight, we steered W. and W. by N. sounding every hour in twenty-five, twenty-four, twenty-one, twenty, and nineteen fathoms. At one o’clock in the morning we ran W. by N. from two o’clock to four, N. W. then N. W. by W. till six o’clock. My intention, expecting to be in the middle of the channel between the isles of Rachit and the land of Java at one o’clock in the morning, was to get to the northward of the rocks. We sounded thrice in twenty fathoms, than twenty-two, next twenty-three, and I then reckoned myself three or four leagues to the N. N. W. of the isles of Rachit.
Error in the reckoning of our course.
I was very much out in my reckoning. On the 26th, the rays of the rising sun shewed us the coast of Java, bearing from S. by W. to west, some degrees north, and at half past seven o’clock we saw from mast-head the isles of Rachit, about seven leagues distant, bearing N. N. W. and N. W. by N. These bearings gave me a prodigious and dangerous difference with the chart of M. d’Après. But I suspended my judgment till the observation at noon should determine whether this difference was to be attributed to the currents, or whether the chart ought to be charged with it. I steered W. by N. and W. N. W. in order to view the coast well, it being in this part extremely low, and without any mountains in the interior parts. The wind was at S. S. E. S. E. and E. pretty fresh.
Causes of this error.
At noon the southermost point of Indermay bore E. by S. 2° S. about four leagues distant; the middle of the isles of Rachit, N. E. five leagues distant, and the mean result of the altitude observed on board, placed us in 6° 12′ of latitude. By this observation, and the bearings, it seemed to me that the gulph between the isle of Mandali and point Indermay, is in the chart laid down less broad from E. to W. by twenty-two minutes than it really is, and that the coast is therein laid down 16′ more southerly than our observations place it. The same correction must take place in regard to the isles of Rachit, by adding, that the distance between these isles and the coast of Java, is at least two leagues greater than that which is expressed in the chart. In regard to the bearings of the several parts of the coast from each other, they appeared to me to be exact enough, as much as we could judge of it by our successive estimations made by sight, and as we ran along. Upon the whole, the differences above-mentioned are very dangerous for one who sails in this part in night-time.
All this morning we had found twenty-one, twenty-three, nineteen, and eighteen fathoms. The E. S. E. breeze continued, and we ranged the coast at three or four miles distance, in order to pass to the southward of the hidden rocks, of which I have already spoken, and which are laid down five or six leagues to the westward of the isles of Rachit. At one o’clock in the afternoon, a boat which lay at anchor a-head of us, made sail upon the starboard-tack, which made me think that the current then changed, and became contrary to us. We spoke with her at two o’clock; a Dutchman who commanded her, and who seemed to be the only white man on board, having some mulattoes with him, said, he was bound for Amboina and Ternate; and that he came from Batavia, from whence he was twenty-six leagues by his reckoning. After coming out of the passage of Rachit, and passing within the rocks which are under water, I wanted to stand N. W. in order to double two sand-banks, named Perilous Banks, which run pretty far out to sea, between the points Indermay and Sidari. The wind would not admit of it, and as I could only stand W. N. W. I let go a stream anchor, at seven o’clock in the evening, in thirteen fathoms, oozy bottom, about a league off shore. We could only ply with very short and unsafe tacks between the rocks under water on one side, and the perilous banks on the other. We had sounded since noon in nineteen, fifteen, fourteen, and ten fathoms. Before we anchored, we made a short board to the offing, which brought us into thirteen fathoms.
We weighed on the 27th, at two o’clock in the morning, with the land-breeze, which this night came from the west, whereas on the preceding nights they had veered all round from north to south by the east. Having steered N. W. we did not see the land again till eight o’clock in the morning, it being then very low, and almost overflowed; we kept the same course till noon, and from our setting sail to that hour, our soundings varied from thirteen to sixteen, twenty, twenty-two, twenty-three, and twenty-four fathoms. At half past ten o’clock we found a coral bottom; I sounded again the moment after, and the bottom was oozy as usual.