5

1798                   meridional altitude of the moon gave the latitude 37° 48' south
February             and some distances of Autares east of the moon reduced to our
Wednesday 7     situation at six o'clock, when altitudes were taken for the apparent time, gave the longitude 147° 41 east, which is to the north and west of Point Hicks.
    We made sail with a moderate north easterly breeze along the coast, which is low and woody, and faced by a continuous beach as far as could be discerned to the southward; our distance, in general was from four to six miles. Before tea I got other altitudes, and two sets of distances of the sun east of the moon, which agreed very nearly with the former. The mean of the whole when reduced to near was 147° 13 East of Greenwich; and the observed latitude at that time was 38° 17' south. The shore was distant six or seven miles, continuing in nearly a straight line as before, and with a range of hills four or five leagues inland.
      At two in the afternoon, we struck a sandy bottom with eleven fathoms, being then two-an-half miles from the land; but about four, the sea breeze coming more on the shore and freshening instead of abating contrary to our expectations and its usual routine it obliged us to haul off south, south-south-east and south-east-by-south, which was near the wind as the schooner could make any way, with the sea that had not got up. The shore was still low and sandy as far we could see, with two or three openings in it, the farthest of which bounded our view at three or four leagues distance: the weather