The 28th at night, we anchored in 18 f. on ooze, Pulo Antekero bearing N.E. three leagues off. Pulo Antekero bears N.N.E. 1/2 E. from Pulo Tunda, about eight leagues distant. The depth of water between the two islands, runs-from 16 f. to 26, and so to 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, and 12 f. all ooze. Pulo Antekero is westernmost of the islands which extend in a row from the bay of Jacatra, [or Batavia,] to the westward. Continuing our course, we anchored, in the evening of the 29th, in 15 f, Pulo Kero bearing N. by E. 1/2 E. 2-1/2 leagues off. Pulo Kero bears N.N.E. nearly from Antekero, six leagues off. After passing halfway between these islands we had 20, 18, 16, 14, 12 f. on ooze. At noon on the 30th we had Pulo Kero six leagues off, S. 1/2 E. our depth continuing 13,12,11 f. all ooze.
At noon on the 1st May, Pulo Kero bore S. 1/2 W nine leagues, and the depth 12 f. being just able to see that island from our top-mast head. By observation of the sun, we were then in lat. 4° 45' S. From noon till five p.m. our course was N.N.E. four leagues. We then anchored in 11 f. on ooze, having Pulo Kero by estimation thirteen league S by W. This night at nine, being still at anchor in the same place, I made the ship, by observation of the Crozies, in lat. 4° 40' S. allowing 29° for the complement of declination. We set sail at four a.m. of the 2d, and by noon had run about six leagues N.N.E. the depths continuing as before, 13, 12, 11 f. By noon of the 3d our course was S. by E. five leagues, the soundings as before, all the ground from Bantam roads hitherto being ooze. From Bantam for the first two days, we had land and sea breezes; afterwards, till the afternoon of the 2d, the wind was constant between E. and S.E. when the wind came northerly, and so continued till the 3d at noon. From Pulo Paniang to Pulo Antekero, the current set to the westwards, somewhat strong; but from thence we found the currents more gentle, and changing into every direction in the course of the twenty-four hours.
Our course from noon of the 3d till noon of the 4th was N.N.E. eleven leagues, the depths from 12 to 10-1/2 f. From noon this day till seven at night, we made 5-1/2 leagues N. and then anchored in 9-1/2 f. We weighed in the morning of the 5th. having but little wind and that variable, till half an hour after six, when it sprung up fresh at S.W. From four to nine a.m. we made three leagues N.E. 1/2 E. and from nine till noon only half a league N.W. by N. This day at noon we were in lat. 3° 30' S. when we descried a small island N.N.E. 1/2 E. four leagues off, which appeared at first like a great tree rising out of the see. From noon till six p.m. our course was five leagues N.W. We here saw two or three hummocks like islands, N. by W. seven leagues off. From thence till three a.m. of the 6th, we sailed W. six leagues. At six in the evening of the 5th we had 9 f. which increased as we stood westwards in the night, to 10, 11, and l2 f. and afterwards decreased to 8 f. where we came to anchor. The stream by night set S.E. and by day N.W. We weighed again at six a.m. of the 6th, and steered W.N.W. 1-1/2 league, when we had sight of many hummocks rising like so many islands, but which at length we perceived to be all one land. Coming now into 6-1/2 f. we altered our course to the N.E. making our course N.N.E. till noon, about 2-1/2 leagues; at which time, by an observation of the sun, we were in lat. 3° 20' S. We were now in 8 f. and found the current to set N.W. by W. About noon of this day, a junk belonging to Johor came up with us, which had been at Cheribon in Java, and was returning to Johor. The afternoon, we steered in with the eastern part of the hummocky land of Banka, making our course N.N.E. 1/2 N. in which we came again to 8 f. afterwards increasing regularly to 24 f. and then decreasing again to a quarter less 7 f. when we came to anchor against the E. point of that land, which bore from us N.N.E. 1/3 N. four leagues off.
We weighed in the morning of the 7th, and stood in nearer the point, in hopes of being able to pass through between that island and one which lay three leagues to the E. But in our way, we found the soundings, after increasing from 7 to 17 f. to decrease again to 6 and to one-half less 4 f. and about two miles off the point in the fair way we had only six feet water in the fair way, or mid-channel. To the eastwards, there appeared many islands, and by the report of the people in the junk, the sea is full of islands between the S.E. end of Banka and the island of Borneo. The S.E. end of Banka now bore N.N.E. 1/2 N. about two leagues off; and the land from this point to the entrance of the straits of Banka, lay W. by S. the straits being thirteen leagues from us. Where we lay at anchor, the before-mentioned point bearing N. by E. 1/2 E. 2-1/2 leagues off, we had an observation of the sun, giving the latitude of the ship 3° 8' S. Having little hope of finding a passage between Banka and Borneo among these islands, by reason of the fearful shoalings we had already met with, we resolved on the 8th to go through the straits between the island of Banka and Sumatra, called the Straits of Banka; wherefore we set sail, retracing as nearly as we could the course by which we came into the present shoal water; in which course we found still more dangerous shoalings than in our in-coming. After we had got about eight leagues off, S.S.W. from the before-mentioned point of Banka, we steered S.W. by W. the current setting N.W. which made our course nearest W. by S. In this course we proceeded five leagues, and anchored in 8 f. on ooze, about nine at night.
In the morning of the 9th, we descried Lucepara, N.N.W. seven leagues off, and steered towards it, till we had it N. two leagues. In this course we passed over a spit, where we had only 4-1/2 f. and 4-3/4. But on nearing Lucepara, we had 5-1/4 f. all ooze. We then steered N.W. by N. till Lucepara was N.E. of us, having 5 f. and the same ground. We then, went W.N.W. having always ooze, till we were within two leagues of the Sumatra shore in 6 f. The isle of Lucepara bore then E.S.E. 3-1/2 leagues off; and a hill on Banka with a deep swamp, N. by W. being about a sail's breadth open of the point of Sumatra, which bore N. by W. 1/2 W. from us, about three leagues off. We steered thence away with the said point N. by W. Having 6-1/2 and 7 f. soft ground, till we came within a league of the point, where edging too near we had but 5-1/2, and only 4-1/2 in the boat hard by us: But, if we had kept a little farther from the point, we might have gone in 7, 8, 9, and 10 f. all through the strait, borrowing carefully with the lead upon the Sumatra shore; whereas by keeping nearer to Banka than Sumatra, the soundings are very variable, sometimes deep, and sometimes shallow, and mostly foul ground. On the Sumatra shore, even if coming into shoal water, the ground is mostly soft ooze, and the soundings far more regular and certain.
In the evening of the 12th May, having brought the N.W. point of Banka to bear N.E. we opened two smooth hills with a little hummock between them; one of these hills being the northermost land of Banka, and bearing N.E. nine leagues, from the N.W. point of that island. This night we steered N.N.E. to get through the channel between Lingan and the N. end of Banka, having 23, 22, 20, 18, and 16 f. all ooze, till we came near the entrance, and afterwards 15, 14, 13 f. in going through the passage. Lingan rises at first in three islands, the northermost being larger than both the other two, being near two leagues long and full of hummocks. Among these three islands there are certain fragments of isles intermixed, like so many hay-cocks, which is a good mark whereby to know these islands. From the smooth hill which is the north end of Banka, to the south-westermost isle of Lingan, it is N. by W. ten leagues. From the middle of the largest isle of Lingan, which is the north-eastermost, there is another smooth island nine leagues off, E.N.E. 1/2 N. From that there is another flat island, and off the north point of the round smooth island, there is a little fragment like a rock. In the fair way between this island and Lingan, there are 14 and 13 f. the course being midway between, and to the N. to pass along by the E. side of Bintang. This day at noon, being the 12th May, our latitude was 1° S.[278] the greatest isle of the Lingan group being S.W. from us five leagues, whence we estimated its latitude to be 1° 10' nearly.
[Footnote 278: This is an evident error, as the northern side of the largest island of the Lingan group is exactly on the equator, and Bintam, or Bintang, is in lat. 1° N.--E.]
At noon of the 14th, having made way twenty-four leagues to the northward, by aid of the wind and a current setting to the north, we had sight of the high land of Bintang, rising with two hills and a deep swamp or hollow between, and, as we judged, twelve leagues from us. At this time, likewise, we had sight of three or four hummocks, S.W. by W. eight leagues off, which seemed separate islands. We had here 20 f. our soundings from Lingan being 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, and 20 f. From noon of the 14th till noon of the 15th, we made twenty-seven leagues N. 1/3 W. our soundings in these twenty-four hours being 21, 22, 23, and 24 f. From noon till three p.m. of the 15th we made 3 1/2 leagues, and then had sight of Pulo Laor, N.W. 1/2 N. about twelve leagues off, having then 27 f. the ground resembling fuller's earth. At night, Pulo Laor being N.W. by W. eight leagues off, we had 39 f. on ooze. From noon of the 15th till eight a.m. of the 16th, we made our course N.N.W. 1/2 W. fifteen leagues. At night of the 16th, Pulo Laor bore S.W. by S. five leagues; the body of the island of Hermano de Layo W.S.W. 1/2 W. seven leagues; and the S. end of Pulo Timon W. 1/2 N. ten leagues, its N.E. end being W.N.W. 1/2 W. ten leagues. We anchored this evening within four leagues of the N. point of Pulo Timon, in 24 f. streamy ground, that point bearing W. by S. 1/2 S. In the evening I sent my boat round the point, where they observed a town, with a junk riding close by the shore, and several proas fishing. One of these came to enquire what nation our people were of, and told them there was good fresh water at the town, with plenty of buffaloes, goats, and poultry.
In the morning of the 17th, we sent the Unicorn's longboat along with ours to the town, whence they came back in the evening with four butts of water each, not willing to fill more, as it was brackish. They found at the watering-place a junk belonging to Johor, fitted out for war, having twenty men armed with fire-arms, besides lances and javelins. They reported that they had taken a Chinese junk, which they had sold on the coast of Johor; the nokhada sending me word, that he would assist me against the Portuguese at the hazard of his life. In the bay next to the southwards of Pulo Timon, we found excellent fresh water, but could not conveniently take it in by means of our long-boat, which drew five feet water when loaded. Having thus spent the day to little purpose, we set sail at the beginning of the night, directing our course for Patane, and steering N. all night with little wind.
At noon of the 18th, we were in the latitude of 3° 40' N. At four p.m. we had sight of Pulo Tingoran, N.N.W. fifteen leagues off. At night we passed by Tingoran, about six leagues to the eastwards, having 28, 30, and 32 f. on soft ground. At six a.m. of the 19th, Tigoran bore W.S.W. seven leagues from us, when we had thirty-six f. soft ground. At noon of this day we were in lat. 5° 30' N. Tingoran bearing S. 1/3 E. fourteen leagues off, by which we estimated the latitude of that island to be 4° 50 N. We had likewise, at noon, the south isle of Pulo Rowdon, [Ridang,] N.W. by W. seven leagues off. The same night at eight, I observed the croziers, making the latitude of the ship 5° 48' N. At this time, the largest of the Ridang isles, which is the eastermost, bore from us due W. four leagues distant. From eight this night, till noon of the 20th, our course was nearly N.W. by W. nine leagues, our sounding being from 28 to 17 f. The northermost of the Pulo Ridang isles was then S. 1/3 E. four leagues off, being a round hummock, much like Pomo in the gulf of Venice, but somewhat higher and more complete. These isles consist of good high land, having fair depth all along their eastern side to seawards, and I am told have a free and safe channel between them and the main land. There are thirteen or fourteen islands in this group, great and small.