Page:Castaway on the Auckland Isles (IA castawayonauckla01musg).pdf/129

Rh barometer is too high—30⋅15—for a strong breeze from that quarter. It has never deceived me in regard to a S.W. gale, and I yet have a hope that it will back into the northward again; at least, to the northward of west.

Tuesday, August 22.—I am once more tossing about on old Ocean. The little vessel is dashing the laughing spray from about her bows, and galloping away, with a fair wind from N.W., and I think we have a fair prospect of a speedy, and in some measure comfortable, run down to the Aucklands. It is now 2 ; the Snares, which we passed at 10, are now out of sight astern. At 11 o'clock last night the wind came from W.N.W., as I had anticipated, and afterwards backed farther to the northward, gradually increasing to a fine steady breeze. At daylight, Stewart Island and the Snares were both in sight.

Wednesday, August 23, 1865.—After writing yesterday until midnight, the breeze freshened to a strong breeze, and at 2 we had double reefs in. At 3, having run far enough to be able to see the land in the morning, if the weather had been clear, we hove to under close-reefed sails, and lay till daybreak; but no land being in sight, we ran on again, and before I could get sights I began to feel very uneasy. At half-past eight, however, the sun peeped through the fog and gave an observation, by which I found that we were about twenty miles to the eastward of the island. We at once hauled up S.W. We had evidently been set to the eastward by a very strong current, and at least a point and a half out of our course. I have no notice of this current, but I had reason to suspect that there was such a thing, and endeavoured to guard against it; which had I not done it would certainly have put us more than fifty miles to the eastward. At 11 we made the land, and as the weather was so thick we were obliged to stand close in before we could make out which part of the islands it was. It proved to be the islands at the north end of the group. We then saw a line of breakers to leeward of us, stretching out from the land farther than we