Until daybreak next morning the wind was unfavourable; but it then veered round to the south, and enabled us to pass Point Culver. Our situation at noon, and the bearings taken were these:
Latitude, observed to the north and south, 32° 52' 51"
Longitude reduced up from eight o'clock, 124 58
Point Culver, distant five leagues, S. 78 W.
Small rock under the cliffs, dist. 5 miles, North.
Furthest extreme of the coast, cliffs, N. 39 E.
Our course along the shore was so favoured by the wind that at seven in the evening we had passed another projecting part of the cliffs, named POINT DOVER, distant from Point Culver fifty miles; and the extreme in sight ahead was twenty miles further, and still cliffy. The nearest part was two or three leagues distant; and the wind being still at south, we hauled up to it, and at nine o'clock stood back to the westward.
The elevation of these cliffs appeared to be about five hundred feet, and nothing of the back country was seen above them. In the upper part they are brown, in the lower part nearly white, and the two strata, as also the small layers of which each is composed, are nearly horizontal. They were judged to be calcareous, as was the white, grey, and brown sand which the lead brought up when the bottom was not of coral.
A surveyor finds almost no object here whose bearing can be set a second time. Each small projection presents the appearance of a steep cape as it opens out in sailing along; but before the ship arrives abreast of it, it is lost in the general uniformity of the coast, and the latitude, longitude, and distance of the nearest cliffs are all the documents that remain for the construction of a chart. Point Culver and Point Dover are exceptions to the general uniformity; but it requires a ship to be near the land before even these are distinguishable. The latter point was somewhat whiter than the cliffs on each side, which probably arose from the front having lately fallen off into the water.
TUESDAY 19 JANUARY 1802
In the night of the 19th the wind shifted round to the eastward, and continued there for three days; and during this time we beat to windward without making much progress. Several observations were taken here for the variation of the compass: with the ship's head east-by-north, azimuths gave 7° 15' west, and at south, 4° 26'; five leagues further eastward they gave 6° 13' with the head north-east, and eight leagues further, an amplitude 4° 18' at south-by-east. These being corrected would be 4° 13', 4° 26', 4° 2', and 3° 42' west; so that the variation had now reassumed a tolerably regular course of diminution. The mean of the whole is 4° 6' west variation in the longitude of 125° 51' east.
FRIDAY 22 JANUARY 1802
At the end of three days beating our latitude in the evening of the 22nd was 32° 22', and longitude 126° 23', the depth in that situation was 7 fathoms at two miles from the land, and the furthest extremes visible through the haze bore west-half-north and east, the latter being distant four or five miles. The bank which before formed the cliffs had retired to a little distance from the coast, and left a front screed of low, sandy shore. Several smokes arose from behind the bank, and were the first seen after quitting the archipelago.
The barometer had kept up nearly to 30 inches during the east and south-east winds, but it now fell to 29,65; and we stretched off for the night in the expectation of a change of wind, and probably of blowing weather. At ten the sails were taken aback by a breeze from the westward; but at daylight [SATURDAY 23 JANUARY 1802] it had veered to south-by-west, and the mercury was rising. We then bore away for the land; and having reached in with the low, sandy point which had borne east in the evening, steered along the coast at three or four miles distance in from 7 to 11 fathoms water. The latitude at noon from very indifferent observations was 32° 22½', and longitude 127° 2'; the coast, four miles distant to the northward, was low and sandy, but rose quickly to the level bank, upon which there were some shrubs and small trees. Nothing of the interior country could be seen above the bank; but this might possibly have been owing to the haze, which was so thick that no extremes of the land could be defined. The wind was fresh at south-south-west, and by seven in the evening our longitude was augmented 55'; the land was then distant six or seven miles, trending east-north-eastward; and we hauled to the wind, which had increased in strength though the barometer was fast rising.