We were now driven by currents, notwithstanding our utmost endeavours to get to the westward, eleven degrees of longitude, or 220 leagues farther to the eastward than the account by the ship's run; and that had happened within the last month, and between the latitudes 3° 00' north, and 6° 30' north.
On the 13th of July we bore away to the northward, it being determined either to attempt the strait through which the Acapulco ships pass to the port of Manilla, or to go round the north end of Luconia, and endeavour to fetch Macao, in China, though we were a little doubtful about fetching the latter in so leewardly a vessel. It appeared from the winds that we then had, that the south-west monsoon at times blows very strong through the opening between the islands of Mindanao and Celebes, and reaches a considerable way to the eastward; I can with certainty say as far as 142° 00' east longitude.
On the 14th in the morning, we saw land bearing north; this we found to be two islands joined together, or nearly so, by a long sandy spit, above water, which reached for about two-thirds of the distance from the eastermost or largest island, to the westmost, which is small. All round the largest is a sand-bank above water, which extends from the foot of the higher land about half a mile into the sea, and may have shoal water from it. We saw on the beach a few natives running along shore, as the ship sailed past. These islands are dangerous to people in the night, on account of the sandy spits which project from them; they were covered with shrubs, and had but few tall trees on them, and the land is but low: the latitude of the large or eastmost island, is 8° 06' north, and longitude 140° 03' east. I did at first suppose them to have been part of the New Carolines, but they seem to lie quite alone, and are about five miles asunder. I called them Phillip Islands, after Arthur Phillip, the governor of New South Wales.
On the 17th of July in the morning, we saw land from the mast-head, bearing west by south nine or ten leagues distant; at noon we could see it from the deck, and it appeared to be three islands; at four in the afternoon, they bore south by west three-quarters west, and were by intersections taken from the ship, distant eight leagues. A considerable number of fish being at that time round the ship, the people, in looking over the side at them, discovered rocks under the bottom; we immediately sounded, and had fifteen fathoms: the rocks appeared very large, with patches of white sand between them; in twenty minutes, the water appeared to deepen, and we had no ground with forty fathoms of line. This ridge of rocks appeared to be about half a mile in breadth, and was seen from the mast-head to stretch to the southward towards the islands, and considerably to the northward of the ship; although it be of great extent in a north-north-east and south-south-west direction, yet I do not think there is any very shoal water upon it, for we saw no break, surf, or rippling, which would indicate shoal water; and there was a sufficient swell of the sea to have occasioned some appearance where any ship would have struck the ground.
These islands lie in the latitude of 9° 33' north; longitude 137° 30' east, and are probably a part of the New Carolines; at least, from the situation of those islands in the charts, they answer to the place of some of them; but as the New Carolines are marked as very numerous, and very contiguous to one another, I did expect to have seen many more; there were of these, three only; the largest was very high, but not extensive. From the time of our making these islands until the 23d, when we were in latitude 11° 56' north; longitude 132° 20' east, we had light and variable winds, but chiefly from the eastward; in the above latitude and longitude it inclined to the northward, and from that to the westward, and became very squally and unsettled weather, with very heavy rains at times.
During these heavy showers, which were in our situation very comfortable, whether in the day or night, every one was employed in spreading his blanket or rug, for the purpose of saving as much water as he could for his own use; for, as we had no means of providing a quantity for the general good, every one did the best he could for himself. The sun being almost vertical, and the weather exceedingly sultry, the scarcity of water was very much felt.
It continued this squally and unsettled weather until the 30th, during some part of which time it blew so strong as to bring the ship under her reefed courses: after the 30th, the wind shifted to west and west by south, with which we stood to the south-ward; for with this wind we could not now fetch the Bashee Islands, and upon the southern tack we could not reach in with any part of the coast of the Philipine Islands; it was therefore, in our situation, judged best to keep as near in with the parallel of Cape Espiritu Sancto as possible, that being the nearest land, which with a hope of a short spurt of wind from the eastward, or a slant either from the northward or southward, would serve to carry us in with the coast: we were then in latitude 13° 25' north; longitude 128° 37' east; Cape Espiritu Sancto bearing south 75° 00' west, 58 leagues distant.
It was very clear to me, from the winds we had experienced since we came to the northward of the Line, that at this time of the year, and generally during the height of the south-west monsoon, in the China seas, these winds do sometimes extend far to the eastward of the Philipine Islands, and frequently blow in very heavy gales. The easterly winds, which we had after crossing the Line, had been constantly so very light, that the run for the twenty-four hours, seldom exceeded from twenty to fifty miles.
The wind now became very variable, but chiefly from the south-west quarter. On the 2d of August, it shifted to west-north-west, and we stood to the south-west. On the 4th, we made the land, bearing west-south-west twelve leagues; the next morning, it bore from west-south-west to west, and at noon we saw it from south-west to west half south; this proved to be the north end of the island of St. John, and is in latitude 9° 30' north; longitude 126° 32' east. From the 31st of July to this time, we had been set to the southward one hundred miles. The wind being again set in at south-west, we could only now stand to the southward, and avail ourselves of the strong southerly current which we every day experienced so much assistance from, and which we had some reason to hope would lead us to the southward of Mindanao.
If this current should fail us, we could not expect to get to the southward, but must then have steered along the coast to the northward, as far as Cape Espiritu Sancto, and enter the Strait of Manilla, where probably we might have found some settlement, short of that port, capable of assisting us with such relief as might have enabled us to proceed on our voyage.