Page:Early voyages to Terra Australis.djvu/256

 a small spit of land, just appearing above the water's edge, with several rocks about it, 8 or 10 feet above high water. It lies in a triangular form, each side being about a league and a half. We stemm'd right with the middle of it, and stood within half a mile of the rocks, and sounded; but found no ground. Then we went about and stood to the north two hours; and then tackt and stood to the southward againe, thinking to weather it; but could not. So we bore away on the north side till we came to the east point, giving the rocks a small berth: then we trimb'd sharp, and stood to the southward, passing close by it, and sounded again, but found no ground. This shoal is laid down in our drafts not above sixteen or twenty leagues from New Holland; but we did runne afterwards sixty leagues due south before we fell in with it: and I am very confident that no part of New Holland hereabouts lyes so far northerly by forty leagues as it is laid down in our drafts. For if New Holland were laid down true, we must of necessity have been driven near forty leagues to the westward of our course; but this is very improbable, that the current should set so strong to the westward, seeing that we had such a constant westerly wind. I grant that when the monsoon shifts first, the current does not presently shift, but runs afterwards near a month; but the monsoon had been shifted at least two months now. But of the monsoons and other winds, and of the currents, elsewhere, in their proper place. As to these here, I do rather believe that the land is not laid down true, than that the current deceived us; for it was more probable we should have been deceived before we met with the shoal than afterward: for on the coast of New Holland we found the tides keeping their constant course, the flood running N. by E. and the ebb S. by W.

The 4th day of January, 1688, we fell in with the land of New Holland, in the latitude of 16° 50', having, as I said