On the 18th we spoke the Rambler, an American brig belonging to Boston, bound to Batavia. After passing the Straits of Sunda we steered to the north of the Cocos Isles. These islands, Captain Couvret informed me, are full of coconut trees: there is no anchorage near them but good landing for boats. Their latitude 12 degrees 0 minutes south. Longitude 96 degrees 5 minutes east.
In the passage to the Cape of Good Hope there occurred nothing worth remark. I cannot however forbear noticing the Dutch manner of navigating. They steer by true compass, or rather endeavour so to do, by means of a small movable central card, which they set to the meridian: and whenever they discover the variation has altered 2 1/2 degrees since the last adjustment they again correct the central card. This is steering within a quarter of a point, without aiming at greater exactness. The officer of the watch likewise corrects the course for leeway by his own judgment before it is marked down in the log board. They heave no log: I was told that the company do not allow it. Their manner of computing their run is by means of a measured distance of 40 feet along the ship's side: they take notice of any remarkable patch of froth when it is abreast the foremost end of the measured distance, and count half seconds till the mark of froth is abreast the after end. With the number of half seconds thus obtained they divide the number 48, taking the product for the rate of sailing in geographical miles in one hour, or the number of Dutch miles in four hours.
It is not usual to make any allowance to the sun's declination on account of being on a different meridian from that for which the tables are calculated: they in general compute with the numbers just as they are found in the table. From all this it is not difficult to conceive the reason why the Dutch are frequently above ten degrees out in their reckoning. Their passages likewise are considerably lengthened by not carrying a sufficient quantity of sail.
December 16.
In the afternoon we anchored in Table Bay.
December 17.
The next morning I went on shore and waited on his excellency M. Vander Graaf who received me in the most polite and friendly manner. The Guardian, commanded by Lieutenant Riou, had left the Cape about eight days before with cattle and stores for Port Jackson. This day anchored in table bay the Astree, a French frigate, commanded by the Count de St. Rivel from the Isle of France, on board of which ship was the late governor, the Chevalier d'Entrecasteaux. Other ships that arrived during my stay at the Cape were a French 40-gun frigate, an East India ship, and a brig, of the same nation: likewise two other French ships with slaves from the coast of Mozambique bound to the West Indies: a Dutch packet from Europe, after a four months passage: and the Harpy, a South Sea Whaler with 500 barrels of spermaceti, and 400 of seal and other oils. There is a standing order from the Dutch East India Company that no person who takes a passage from Batavia for Europe in any of their ships shall be allowed to leave the ship before she arrives at her intended port. According to which regulation I must have gone to Holland in the packet. Of this I was not informed till I was taking leave of the governor-general at Batavia, when it was too late for him to give the Captain an order to permit me to land in the channel. He however desired I would make use of his name to governor Vander Graaf, who readily complied with my request and gave the necessary orders to the Captain of the packet, a copy of which his excellency gave to me; and at the same time recommendatory letters to people of consequence in Holland in case I should be obliged to proceed so far.
I left a letter at the Cape of Good Hope to be forwarded to governor Phillips at Port Jackson by the first opportunity, containing a short account of my voyage with a descriptive list of the pirates: and from Batavia I had written to Lord Cornwallis, so that every part of India will be prepared to receive them.
Saturday 2.
We sailed from the Cape in company with the Astree French frigate. The next morning neither ship nor land were in sight. On the 15th we passed in sight of the island St. Helena. The 21st we saw the island Ascension. On the 10th of February, the wind being at north-east blowing fresh, our sails were covered with a fine orange-coloured dust. Fuego, the westernmost of the Cape de Verde islands and the nearest land to us on that day at noon bore north-east by east half east, distance 140 leagues. When we had passed the latitude of the Western Islands a lookout was kept for some rocks which Captain Couvret had been informed lay in latitude 44 degrees 25 minutes north and 2 degrees 50 minutes east longitude from the east end of St. Michael. This information Captain Couvret had received from a person that he knew and who said he had seen them. On the 13th of March we saw the Bill of Portland and on the evening of the next day, Sunday March the 14th, I left the packet and was landed at Portsmouth by an Isle of Wight boat.