From noon of the 20th till eight in the morning of the 21st, our course was W.N.W. nine leagues. We saw two hills by the water-side, bearing W. and five leagues off, resembling two great tortoises. From Pulo Tingoran all the way to Patani, the land up the country is very high, while that just within the coast is low, with a sandy beach. This is the case for at least twenty leagues south of Patani, but how much farther I know not. In the afternoon of the 20th, while standing towards the two hills just mentioned as resembling tortoises, we came from 17 into 14 and 13 f. with hard ground; and as we drew nearer these hills, the depth again increased to 19 f. on ooze, and then shoaled again to 18 and 17 f. on ooze.
The 21st of May, being Sunday, from eight a.m. to seven p.m. our course was N.W. 3/4 W. thirteen leagues, keeping mostly within four leagues of the low sandy shore, the depth all the way being 15, 14, and 13 f. We then anchored in 13-3/4 f. streamy ground, the northermost point in sight, falling down from a reasonably high land at the far end of the low land, bore from us W.N.W. 1/2 N. near 3-1/2 leagues off. S.E. by S. from this point, six leagues off, there is a rock, as high above water as the hull of a small ship, which we passed about 1-1/2 league on its E. side, finding no alteration in the soundings. This point I named the Gurnet's Head. From this point, the land trends W.N.W. and W. by N. all the way to the entrance into Patani roads, being all low land from the Gurnet's Head to the point of the road, this point being the lowest of all. The distance from the Gurnet's Head to that low point is six leagues, all the way of fair depth till coming near the low point of the road, to which a good birth must be given, as there lies a shoal from it half-way over to the western shore, wherefore it must not be approached too near, till you find in the first place the shoaling of the western shore, which is the softest ground. From the low point, in going across the bay to the western shore there are only from 5 f. to 4 1/2 when in the road; and then the low point bears from the anchorage, E.N.E. 1/3 E. the highest mountains in the western side of the bay bearing S.S.W. 1/3 W.
We anchored in the road of Patani on Thursday the 25th of May, when we found the Sampson and a Dutch pinnace there at anchor. I went ashore the day before to the English factory, where I found Mr Adam Denton and Mr Richard Welding, lately come from Jambee in Sumatra in a proa, with several of the Sampson's people, who were all rejoiced to see our ships coming into the port. On getting to the English house, I told Mr Denton that my chief purpose for coming here was for arrack and fresh victuals, of which we were in great need, upon which he gave immediate orders to procure every thing we needed, so that in six days we were supplied with sixteen butts of arrack and arrack-apee; three butts of which last we had from the Dutch, for which courtesy we were chiefly obliged by their anxiety to have us away. We had also beeves, goats, and poultry, in abundance. We also bought here dammar and oil, for the purpose of repairing our ships, as I understood these things were dear at Japan. I here found a small frigate or country bark, which had been bought by the English; and as she was of no great use there, it was agreed that she, with most of the English sailors, should attend upon us to Japan.
We departed from Patani on the 31st May; and at seven a.m. of the 1st June, we saw a small rock, just above water, being very dangerous for ships bound from Patani for the point of Camboja. When this rock bore N.N.E. 1/2 E. at the distance of a league, the high land over Gurnet Head was S.S.W. 1/4 W. eighteen leagues off; and by computation, the low point of Patani road was then eighteen leagues off, W.S.W. 1/2 S. After getting out of Patani road into 7 f. the depth increased regularly to 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24 f. till we got sight of the rock; and two leagues from it we had 25 f. on ooze, as was the ground all the way over from Patani. This day at noon, we found the latitude of the ship to be 7° 20' N. the rock bearing W. about four leagues off.
From that time till the 3d, at noon, our course was E. 1/2 N. forty-five leagues, when we had sight of Pulo Hube, bearing E.N.E. 1/2 N. eight leagues off, having 14 f. on ooze, as we constantly had for the last forty-eight hours, the sounding being from 27 to 36 f. and thence decreasing again to 14 f. Pulo Hube rises at first as one round hill, and on coming nearer some high land is seen rising in hummocks, but not above two-thirds so high as the round hill, being all one land with it. Then another and smaller island is seen to rise, nearly of the same height with the hummocks, and close to the larger island. At the east end of this lesser round island, there are two little isles very near, and a mile east of them there is a long rock like the hull of a galley. This night we anchored in 13 1/2 f. on ooze, about three leagues from the largest and highest isle. In the morning of the 4th we weighed, and stood E. by S. with little wind. At six p.m. we had the body of Pulo Hube W. by N. four leagues off. From thence we steered E. by S. and E. till six next morning, but were so opposed by the current, that we made our course to the northward of east. From six a.m. of the 5th till six p.m. we ran fifteen leagues in the before-mentioned course, when we saw a very small round isle about four leagues to the southward, having a long flat rock S. from it about a mile, a good height above water. From Pulo Hube till three leagues from this island, our soundings were 13, 14, 15 f. and then 15, 14, 13 f. again, all ooze. When within two leagues of this small island, we had 13 f. on sand.
Here we descried Pulo Condor, its N. end bearing E. by N. from this small island about seven leagues off. This day at noon, we made our latitude 8° 42' N. the highest land on Pulo Condor bearing from us E. six leagues off. From Patani till we were in sight of Pulo Condor, the wind was mostly S.S.W. This day at noon, we steered away N.E. then N.E. by N. and in the night N.N.E. so that we made our course on the whole, till next day at noon, N.E. by N. about twenty-four leagues, the depths being 13 and 14 f. on ooze. At noon of the 6th, we had sight of two hummocks on the coast of Camboja, bearing N. by E. nine leagues off, with low land to the westwards. From Pulo Condor till we had sight of this coast, the current set E. by N. At this time we had 12 f. on streamy ground. The 7th at noon, we were in lat. 10° 42' N. having run from the former noon twenty-five leagues N.E. 1/2 N. and found that the current had carried us ten leagues to the N. of our computation. Our depths were in these twenty-four hours, from 12, to 16, 20, and 24 f. and then back to 20, 18, 16, 14, on sandy ground.
From the before-mentioned two hummocks, as we coasted along, about eight leagues from the land, sometimes more, and sometimes less, we saw high land all the way in the inland country, and a smooth land in most places by the sea side, about the height of the Lizard, with many plots upon it resembling white sand, as well as the sea side. The first of these white spots was on a point ten leagues W. of Cape Cessier, which we at first thought had been a town with fair white houses and white walls. This day, at noon, being the 7th, when in the lat. of 10° 48' N. that Cape bore from us about six leagues W.N.W. 1/2 W. At noon of the 8th, we were in lat. 11° 30' N. having gone twenty leagues N.E. 1/2 N. from noon of the 7th. From the 8th, till noon of the 9th, we steered along shore N.N.E. sixteen leagues, N. by E. six leagues, N. six leagues, and N. by W. nine leagues, making our course in all N. by E. 1/3 E. thirty-six leagues. We now had Cape Varella[279] W.S.W. eight leagues off, and were in the lat. of 13° 13' N. This cape is called Jentam by the Chinese, signifying a chimney in their language, because it has a sharp hummock on the top of the hill, much like a chimney on the top of a house. From noon of the 9th, till noon of the 10th, our course was N. two-thirds W. twenty-six leagues; our latitude on the 10th being 14° 30' N. when we were about ten leagues from the land.
[Footnote 279: Cape Verelly is in lat. 12° 40' N. on the coast of Cochin China--E.]
The 11th, at noon, we were in lat. 16° 10' N. having run, from the foregoing noon, thirty-three one-third leagues due N. Next noon, the 12th, we had made other twenty-six leagues, N.N.E. 1/2 N. and were in latitude 17° 40' N. the current having set us six leagues to the N. of our computation. This evening, at six, we descried the island of Aynam, [Hainan] its high land bearing N.W. by N. twelve leagues, and we had run from noon seven leagues N.E. From hence, till noon of the 13th, our course was N.E. by E. twenty-two leagues, and we were then in lat. 18° 30' N. We this morning chased a Portuguese frigate, but she was so light that we could not get near her. The 14th, at noon, we were in 19° 35' N. our course having been these twenty-four hours N.E. twenty-six leagues, the current having carried us four leagues to the N. of our reckoning; and yet this day at noon, in seventy-three f. on ooze, our boats found no current at all. We here saw many ripplings, like the overfalls of some rapid tide, yet found none. At six this evening, we again anchored our boat in sixty-eight f. on oozy sand, and found a slight current to the southwards. By the 15th, at noon, we had ran seventeen leagues N.E. by N. and our latitude was 28° 30' N. the current having carried us seven leagues to the north of our reckoning. We had here forty-five f. sandy ooze. The 16th, at noon, in 21° 20' N. we had sight of three islands, the eastermost N.N.W. the westermost N.W. and the nearest land nine leagues off. We had here twenty-two f. on oosy sand, the wind being E.S.E. and very fresh; but, from Cape Verelly till now, the wind had always blown from S.S.E. to S.W. Next morning, at eight, we had twenty-eight f. on ooze, having run, from noon of the 16th, eleven leagues S.W. Finding the wind to increase, we thought it better to come here to anchor than to run back again.
In the morning of the 18th June, the weather being somewhat fair, we endeavoured to weigh our anchor; but when it was right apeak, the cable gave way, though a new one, never before wetted, by which we lost our anchor. Just at this time the Unicorn fired a gun, on which I sent immediately to know what was amiss, and was informed she had sprung a great leak, by which all her men were tired out with bailing. I then sent thirty men to her aid, to ease her crew, till it might please God they should find the leak. This day we had the wind at S.E. and stood E. making our course N.E. till six p.m. when we again saw the former high island ten leagues from us, bearing N.N.E. one-third E. This evening our men returned from the Unicorn with the joyful news that the great leak was firmly stopped. From six p.m. till midnight, we made fourteen leagues N.E. when we had twenty f. in ooze. From that time, till five next morning, we stood to the southwards, making a S.W. course three and a half leagues.