Page:Captain Cook's Journal during His First Voyage Round the World.djvu/352

274 tinued steering N.N.W. ½ W. as the Land lay, having 10, 12, and 14 fathoms, at a distance of 3 Leagues from the Land. At 11 we hauld off N., in order to get without a Small Low Island which lay about 2 Leagues from the Main; it being about high Water, about the time we passed it, great part of it lay under water. About 3 Leagues to the N. Westward of this Island, close under the Main land, is another Island, Tolerable high, which bore from us at Noon N. 55° W., distant 7 or 8 Miles; we being at this time in the Lat. of 16° 20′ S., Cape Grafton bore S. 29° E., distant 40 Miles, and the Northermost point of Land in Sight N. 20° W., and in this Situation had 15 fathoms Water. The Shore between Cape Grafton and the above Northern point forms a large but not very deep Bay, which I named Trinity Bay, after the day on which it was discover'd; the North point Cape Tribulation, because here began all our Troubles. Lat. 16° 6′ S., Long. 214° 39′ W.

Monday, 11th.—Wind at E.S.E., with which we steer'd along shore N. by W. at the distance of 3 or 4 Leagues off, having from 14 to 10 and 12 fathoms water. Saw 2 Small Islands in the Offing, which lay in the Lat. of 16° 0′ S., and about 6 or 7 Leagues from the Main. At 6 the Northermost land in sight bore N. by W. ½ W., and 2 low, woody Islands, which some took to be rocks above Water, bore N. ½ W. At this time we shortened Sail, and hauld off shore E.N.E. and N.E. by E., close upon a Wind. My intention was to stretch off all Night as well to avoid the danger we saw ahead as to see if any Islands lay in the Offing, especially as we now begun to draw near the Lat. of those discover'd by Quiros, which some Geographers, for what reason I know not, have thought proper to Tack to this land. Having the advantage of a fine breeze of wind, and a clear Moon light Night in standing off from 6 until near 9 o'Clock, we deepned our Water from 14 to 21 fathoms, when all at once we fell into 12, 10 and 8 fathoms. At this time I had everybody at their Stations to put about and come to an Anchor; but in this I was not so fortunate, for meeting again with Deep Water, I thought there could be no danger in standing on. Before 10 o'Clock we had 20 and 21 fathoms, and Continued in that depth until a few minutes before 11, when we had 17, and before the Man at the Lead could heave another cast, the Ship Struck and stuck fast. Immediately upon this we took in all our Sails, hoisted out the Boats and Sounded round the Ship, and found that we had got upon the S.E. Edge of a reef of Coral Rocks, having in some places round the Ship 3 and 4 fathoms Water, and in other places not quite as