At six o'clock the next morning we weighed, and found that the palm was gone from the small bower anchor. The wind was at W.N.W. with hard rain: At eight o'clock we found a strong current setting us to the eastward, and at noon, Cape Monday bore W.N.W. distant two miles. The Tamar being to windward of us, fetched into the bay, and anchored again. We continued to lose ground upon every tack, and therefore, at two o'clock, anchored upon the southern shore in sixteen fathom, about five miles to the eastward of Cape Monday. At three, however, I weighed again, for the boat having sounded round the ship, found the ground rocky. The wind was N.W. with hard rain, and we continued working all the rest of the day, and all night, every man on board being upon deck the whole time, and every one wet to the skin; for the rain, or rather sheets of water, that came down, did not cease a moment.
In the morning, we had again the mortification to find that, notwithstanding all our labour, we had lost ground upon every tack, in consequence of the current, which continued to set with great force to the eastward. At eight o'clock we bore away, and at nine anchored in the same bay from which we sailed on the 15th.
The wind continued W. and W.N.W. without any tide to the westward, all the 18th and 19th, and the weather was exceedingly bad, with hard squalls and heavy rain. In the mean time I had sent an officer with a boat to sound a bay on the north shore, but he found no anchorage in it. On the 20th, at six o'clock in the morning, a hard squall coming on, the ship drove, and brought the anchor off the bank into forty fathom, but by heaving up the bower, and carrying out the kedge anchor, we got the ship on the bank again. At eight the day following, though the wind was from W.N.W. to S.W. we weighed, and once more stood out of the bay; the current still set very strongly to the eastward, but at noon we found that we had gained about a mile and a half in a contrary direction. The wind now became variable, from S.W. to N.W. and at five in the afternoon, the ship had gained about four miles to the westward; but not being able to find an anchoring-place, and the wind dying away, we drove again very fast to the eastward with the current. At six however, we anchored in forty fathom, with very good ground, in a bay about two miles to the westward of that from which we sailed in the morning. A swell rolled in here all night, so that our situation was by no means desirable, and therefore, although the wind was still at W.S.W. we weighed and made sail about eight o'clock the next day: We had likewise incessant rain, so that the people were continually wet, which was a great aggravation of their fatigue; yet they were still cheerful, and, what was yet less to be expected, still healthy. This day, to our great joy, we found the current setting to the westward, and we gained ground very fast. At six in the evening, we anchored in the bay on the east side of Cape Monday, where the Tamar lay in eighteen fathom, the pitch of the cape bearing W. by N. distant half a mile. We found this place very safe, the ground being excellent, and there being room enough for two or three ships of the line to moor.
SECTION VII
The Passage from Cape Monday, in the Streight of Magellan, into the South Seas; with some general Remarks on the Navigation of that Strait. AT eight the next morning we weighed, and soon after we made sail opened the South Sea, from which such a swell rolled in upon us as I have seldom seen. At four o'clock in the afternoon, we anchored in a very good bay, with a deep sound at the bottom of it, by which it may be known, about a league to the eastward of Cape Upright, in fourteen fathom. The extreme point of the bay bore from N.W. to N.E. by E. and Cape Upright W.N.W. about a cable's length to the eastward of a low island which makes the bay.
At three o'clock in the morning of the 24th, I sent a boat with an officer from each ship, to look for anchoring-places to the westward; but at four in the afternoon, they returned without having been able to get round Cape Upright.
The next morning I sent the boats again to the westward, and about six in the evening they returned, having been about four leagues, and found two anchoring-places, but neither of them were very good. We made sail, however, about eight in the forenoon of the next day, and at three, Cape Upright bore E.S.E. distant about three leagues, a remarkable cape on the north shore at the same time bearing N.E. distant four or five miles. This cape, which is very lofty and steep, lies N.N.W. by compass from Cape Upright, at the distance of about three leagues. The south shore in this place had a very bad appearance, many sunken rocks lying about it to a considerable distance, upon which the sea breaks very high. At four the weather became very thick, and in less than half an hour we saw the south shore at the distance of about a mile, but could get no anchoring-place; we therefore tacked, and stood over to the north shore. At half an hour after six, I made the Tamar signal to come under our stern, and ordered her to keep a-head of us all night, and to show lights, and fire a gun every time she changed her tack. At seven it cleared up for a moment just to show us the north shore, bearing W. by N. We tacked immediately, and at eight the wind shifted from N.N.W. to W.N.W. and blew with great violence. Our situation was now very alarming; the storm increased every minute, the weather was extremely thick, the rain seemed to threaten another deluge, we had a long dark night before us, we were in a narrow channel, and surrounded on every side by rocks and breakers. We attempted to clue up the mizen top-sail, but before this service could be done it was blown all to rags: We then brought-to, with the main and fore-topsail close-reefed, and upon the cap, keeping the ship's head to the southwest; but there being a prodigious sea, it broke over us so often that the whole deck was almost continually under water. At nine, by an accidental breaking of the fog, we saw the high cape on the north shore that has been just mentioned, bearing east, at about a mile distance; but we had entirely lost sight of the Tamar. At half an hour after three in the morning, we suddenly perceived ourselves close to a high land on the south shore, upon which we wore, and brought to the northward. The gale still continued, if possible, with increasing violence, and the rain poured down in torrents, so that we were in a manner immersed in water, and expected every moment to be among the breakers. The long-wished-for day at length broke, but the weather was still so thick that no land was to be seen, though we knew it could not be far distant, till after six, when we saw the south shore at about the distance of two miles; and soon after, to our great satisfaction, we saw the Tamar: At this time Cape Monday bore S.E. distant about four miles, and the violence of the gale not abating, we bore away. About seven, both ships came to an anchor in the bay which lies to the eastward of Cape Monday, notwithstanding the sea that rolled in; for we were glad to get anchorage any where[32] We had now been twice within four leagues of Tuesday's Bay, at the western entrance of the streight, and had been twice driven back ten or twelve leagues by such storms as we had now just experienced. When the season is so far advanced as it was when we attempted the passage of this streight, it is a most difficult and dangerous undertaking, as it blows a hurricane incessantly night and day, and the rain is as violent and constant as the wind, with such fogs as often render it impossible to discover any object at the distance of twice the ship's length. This day our best bower cable being quite rubbed to pieces, we cut it into junk, and bent a new one, which we rounded with old rigging, eight fathom from the anchor.
[Footnote 32: "The straits are here four or five leagues over, and the mountains seem to be ten times as high as the mast-head of our ships; but not much covered with snow; or encompassed with trees.">[
In the afternoon of the day following, the Tamar parted a new best bower cable, it being cut by the rock, and drove over to the east side of the bay, where she was brought up at a very little distance from some rocks, against which she must otherwise have been dashed to pieces.
At seven o'clock in the morning of the 29th, we weighed, and found our small bower-cable very much rubbed by the foul ground, so that we were obliged to cut no less than six-and-twenty fathom of it off, and bend it again. In about half an hour, the Tamar, being very near the rocks, and not being able to purchase her anchor, made signals of distress. I was therefore obliged to stand into the bay again, and having anchored, I sent hawsers on board the Tamar, and heaved her up while she purchased her anchor, after which we heaved her to windward, and at noon, being got into a proper birth, she anchored again. We continued in our station all night, and the next morning a gale came on at W.N.W. which was still more violent than any that had preceded it; the water was torn up all around us, and carried much higher than the mast heads, a dreadful sea at the same time rolling in; so that, knowing the ground to be foul, we were in constant apprehension of parting our cables, in which case we must have been almost instantly dashed to atoms against the rocks that were just to leeward of us, and upon which the sea broke with inconceivable fury, and a noise not less loud than thunder. We lowered all the main and fore-yards, let go the small bower, veered a cable and a half on the best bower, and having bent the sheet-cable, stood by the anchor all the rest of the day, and till midnight, the sea often breaking half way up our main shrouds. About one in the morning, the weather became somewhat more moderate, but continued to be very dark, rainy, and tempestuous, till midnight, when the wind shifted to the S.W. and soon afterwards it became comparatively calm and clear.