APPENDIX A. SECTION 6.
OF THE WINDS AND WEATHER UPON THE SOUTH COAST. DIRECTIONS FOR KING GEORGE THE THIRD'S SOUND, AND HYDROGRAPHICAL REMARKS RELATING TO BASS STRAIT.
SOUTH COAST.
Between the meridians of Cape Leeuwin and Bass Strait, the weather is generally very unsettled and tempestuous; and, at certain seasons, very much against a ship making the western passage from Port Jackson, which is by passing through Bass Strait, and along the south coast; but it so happens that at the time when ships cannot proceed through Torres Strait, by reason of the Westerly Monsoon, namely, from the month of December to that of March, easterly winds prevail upon the south coast, and are more regular and strong in that space between the land and the parallel of Bass Strait.* I have been told that the south-westerly gales that sometimes occur during that season, seldom, if ever, blow home upon the coast; and that when they do reach the land, they partake more of the character of the sea breeze; be that as it may, a ship steering to the westward should keep to the north of 40 degrees, in order to benefit by the regularity of the wind, which to the south of that parallel generally blows from some western quarter. From April to October the westerly gales are very constant, and veer between South by West and North by East; but, in the months of June and July, seldom veer to the southward of South-West or northward of North-West; they are then accompanied by a deep and heavy sea. The wind, in the summer season, generally revolves with the sun, and, as the atmosphere becomes more dense, veers to the South-East, with fine weather.
(*Footnote. Horsburgh volume 2 page 506.)
The marine barometer is here of considerable importance, as its rise always precedes a south-east wind, and its fall a change from the North-West; it seldom, however, stands lower than twenty-nine and a half inches. The currents generally set to the north, and seldom run with any velocity either to the east or west. A ship steering along this coast to the eastward, bound to Port Jackson through Torres Strait, should steer upon the parallel of 41 degrees, to avoid being thrown into the bight to the west of Cape Northumberland, where with a South-East wind, that would otherwise be fair for carrying her through Bass Strait, she would be detained probably a week.
Upon making Van Diemen's Land, she is ready for either a northerly or a southerly wind; since, with the former, she can round Van Diemen's Land, without suffering much detention, or materially lengthening her voyage.
KING GEORGE THE THIRD'S SOUND was discovered by Captain Vancouver in the year 1791, on his celebrated voyage to the North-west Coast of America. It offers an excellent resort for vessels, and is convenient for all the purposes of refitting, wooding, and watering. The natives are friendly; the banks of Oyster Harbour afford a large abundance of oysters and other shell-fish, and the harbours and rivers are well-stocked with fish and birds.
There are many convenient anchorages in the sound; the best place for a large ship, when it is necessary to refit the rigging at the same time that she is completing her wood and water, is PRINCESS ROYAL HARBOUR; but for a small vessel, not drawing more than eleven feet, OYSTER HARBOUR is preferable, because she is secured to within one hundred yards of the shore, and therefore better situated for the protection of her people at their occupations from the natives, who are numerous, and will daily visit them. But, for a ship only wanting fuel and water, there is a sandy bay in the south-west corner of the sound, in which two or three streams of excellent water run into the sea over the sand, from which a ship might complete her hold in a day or two, by digging a well to collect it. Wood may also be procured at this place, but not of so large a size, or perhaps of so good a quality as at other parts. This bay is readily found, by its being the first to the westward of a rocky point, that projects from some remarkable bare sand hillocks, as also from its being the second sandy beach to the westward of the low flat rocky islet at the back of Seal Island.
The anchorage is good, being a bottom of sand and weeds, and is sufficiently protected from easterly winds by BREAKSEA and MICHAELMAS ISLANDS. The anchorage between SEAL ISLAND and the first sandy beach to the westward of BALD HEAD, with the low flat rocky islet bearing west, in six or seven fathoms sand and weeds, should be preferred during the summer months; for the easterly winds then prevail, and sometimes blow strong, even as late as March; the anchorage is landlocked, excepting in the direction of East by North, the only quarter to which it is exposed, and even in that direction the angle subtending the sea horizon is not greater than ten degrees of the circle, which is of insignificant consequence.