7th, Saturday. It had been very calm through the night; but the wind shifted to the south, and we therefore had to change our course continually; at last it was south-southeast, and we could not sail higher than west by north. We found the latitude 56° 24´, but could not judge well because the sun was obscured. The reckoning was 55° 55´; the course was south by west; the distance 56 miles. We here came into a whole school of tunnies which afforded us great amusement. We also saw several ships ahead of us and heard much firing of guns.
8th, Sunday. Calm and rainy weather. We had made, this whole night and from noon yesterday, not more than 28 or 32 miles progress. The course was south-southeast sailing over against the wind, in order to come upon the Doggerbank.[450] Saw several vessels, one of which ran before us, over to Newcastle. Reckoned at noon to-day we were 40 miles from the Doggerbank.
9th, Monday. In the morning watch, threw the deep lead in 25 fathoms, sandy bottom, green, white and red. About ten o'clock we had 20 fathoms with the same ground. The atmosphere was thick and hazy. The latitude we supposed was 55° 19´. We were now certainly on the Doggerbank. We caught many young spier hayties, which the English call dogs, and because large numbers of these fish always keep there, the bank, which is very large and almost makes the figure of a fishing boat, is called the Doggerbank. At four o'clock we had 18 fathoms, and in the evening 17. The course still south-southeast, and the wind northeast, breezy and calm, intermingled. In the night the deep lead was thrown several times, and we found 19, 18, 15 and 14 fathoms of water.
10th, Tuesday. The wind blew from almost all points; at ten o'clock it was northeast and east-northeast, with 12, 11, 10, 9½ fathoms of water. The latitude was 54° 44´. We saw several large ships and heard heavy firing of guns which made our captain and others very serious, for we heard 40 or 50 shots. Seeing a ship behind us, we let the sails run and waited for her. On her approaching us, we found she was a Dutch flute;[451] and when we spoke her, they said they were from Muscovy, bound for Amsterdam. We wished with our whole hearts we were on board of her with our goods, for we should then sooner have been home. There was a rolling sea, so that there was no prospect of being put aboard of her; besides, the captain would not have been willing. They could not tell us much news. We asked where they reckoned they were, and they said not far from where we knew, that they were on the Doggerbank. In the evening we found the water deeper than 20 fathoms, and afterwards 25, at midnight 30, and in the day watch 45, with a bottom of fine sand.
11th, Wednesday. In the forenoon, found the water more shallow, 25, 23 and 20 fathoms, and we therefore believed we had passed from the Doggerbank to the Welle,[452] another bank so called. We obtained a good observation, and the latitude was 54° net; the ship's altitude 5´ being deducted, left 53° 55´, which agreed very well with our chart, with the depth, and our reckoning. The distance was put at 40 miles. We saw many ships around us, but could speak none. It continued calm until evening, when we found 20 and afterwards 17 fathom water, over a coarse red and white sandy bottom, mixed with small stones. The course was south-southeast.
12th, Thursday. The latitude 53° 45´, that is, the height of our eyes above the water being deducted; the distance 24 miles; the course south-southeast, a little southerly. We reckoned we were at the middle of the Welle bank. We longed for a good wind, and we were only sixty miles from Yarmouth and 100 or 104 from Harwich. We fished a little, only caught two or three small codfish, and hauled up with the hook a great quantity of stone and sea weed. In the first watch the wind was north and northeast, with slack water in 15, 14, 17, 19 and 20 fathoms. The captain therefore sailed southeast and southeast by south, through fear of the Lemenoirs[453] and other Yarmouth shoals.
13th, Friday. It blew a stiff topsail breeze. We had 17 and 18 fathoms of water, which looked quite white, and made me think we were near the White Water, another bank so named on which there is 17 and 16 fathoms. We sailed south-southwest. We waited for a herring-buss coming towards us, and spoke to her. She was from Rotterdam, had been at sea a long time, and had seen no land. They told us they were between Wells and the White Water, nearer the latter, and that South Foreland was south-southwest of us. They could tell us nothing more. We wished we were in the buss, for then we might have been in the Maes that evening, as she had a good wind. The latitude was 52° 50´. We sailed southwest in 23 fathoms of water, with a bottom of fine sand a little reddish and mixed with black. In sailing towards the shore we had 18 fathoms; when about three, or half past three o'clock in the afternoon they cried out, Land! and proceeding further on, we saw the grove near Yarmouth, and shortly afterwards Yarmouth steeple, southwest by west and west-southwest from us. We sailed more southerly and discovered the whole coast. We came to anchor about seven o'clock in 16 fathoms.
14th, Saturday. It had been good weather through the night, and we had rested well. We saw when the sun rose, which shone against the coast and was entirely clear, how the coast ran. The land is not so high as it is west of the Thames to Land's End. There are many villages. Yarmouth looked like a pleasant little place, as it lay north-northwest of us. We saw many ships sailing one way and the other. Having waited for the ebb to run out we got under sail about eight o'clock. We sailed by Sowls,[454] and came to anchor again about three o'clock in the afternoon. The passengers had everything ready to go ashore, and so overland to London. There was a signal made with the flag from our ship, and a shot fired for a pilot or some one else to come on board. Towards evening a small boat came with five men, but no pilot. The flood making about nine or ten o'clock in the evening, and running along the whole Scottish and English coast, from the Orkneys to the Thames, we sailed on again until we came to another village where our passengers went ashore. It was about midnight. The weather was fine and the moon shone bright; we fired five or six guns. The minister was sad and complained that it was Sunday, or Saturday evening, and he dared not go ashore, lest he should break the Sabbath; but finally he let his wishes override his scruples, and went off with the passengers. We obtained a pilot and some refreshments, and then sailed on till we came before Dunwich,[455] the oldest place in England, and once the mightiest in commerce. We came again to anchor in order to wait for the tide. The wind continued west-southwest.
15th, Sunday. The wind mostly as before. We were under sail about ten o'clock, with the flood tide, and tacked along the land in seven fathoms of water to the point of Aldborough,[456] to reach which we made five or six short tacks. Running close to the shore, we came among a fleet of, I think, full 200 coal ships, all beating up the river, which made it difficult to avoid each other. We passed through the King's Channel. I have never seen so many sunken ships as there were in the mouth of the Thames, full eight or ten in different places, from various causes. The tide being spent we came to anchor before a village called St. Peter.
16th, Monday. The wind being mostly north, the weather was cold and piercing. The whole fleet was under sail, with the flood tide, and we along with them. They had talked loudly in Boston of the sailing qualities of our ship, but almost the whole coal fleet sailed ahead of us.