Chapter IX: A Voyage to Batavia (3)

At day-light in the morning, we tacked to the southward, and again fell in with the dry sand-bank already mentioned; we passed it at four miles distance, and had thirty-five fathoms water (to the eastward). The dry part of this sand-bank is so very small, that in bad weather the sea must break entirely over it: there is regular soundings between it and the Brothers, from twenty-five to seventeen fathoms. Being now determined not to stand farther to the westward than we could by that means gain southing, we, by the different changes of the wind, got, by the 19th, as far as 4° 42' south latitude: that morning, as we were steering to the westward, ground was discovered under the ship which of course drew every body on deck; we had ten fathoms, over a rocky bottom, which we saw very distinctly. The latitude of this ridge is 4° 35' south, and longitude, observed that morning is 117° 19' east: I judge that it must extend from some small islands, which are laid down in most of the charts, and which we supposed lay at that time directly to the southward of us, but we saw nothing of them.

From this reef we steered west-south-west, and at six in the afternoon, we saw an island bearing west half south; we hauled to the southward to weather it, and at day-light in the morning of the 20th, it bore north, distant seven leagues; its latitude is 4° 56' south, and the longitude observed that morning 115° 40' east; this we supposed to be Poolo Laut: we kept the lead going all night, and had from twenty to twenty-eight fathoms; the wind fresh from south-east by south.

We continued to steer west-south-west, and, for about fourteen leagues, we crossed a flat of sixteen fathoms. At midnight on the 21st, we saw an island bearing west-north-west three or four miles distant; this we supposed to be the island of Solombo; its latitude is 5° 42' south, and the longitude 114° 24' east. We continued to steer to the westward, and had from twenty-five to thirty-five fathoms until day-light in the morning of the 23d, when we made the islands called Cariman Java; the middle or principal one is large, and of very considerable height; it is encompassed by many smaller ones, some of which are well covered with wood: the latitude of the south side of these islands is 5° 21' south, and the longitude 110° 33' east.

On the morning of the 24th, we saw a number of water spouts and whirlwinds, some of which came so very near that we fired a few guns, in hopes that the concussion of the air would have dispersed them; but our guns were too small to give a sufficient shock to the atmosphere; however, a good breeze of wind sprung up and carried us clear of them. We steered from Cariman Java, west, and in the evening of the 25th, we made the small islands called the Boomkins, which lie about five leagues from the Coast of Java; we passed about three miles within them, and saw the shore of Java. During part of the night we steered west-north-west to avoid some sunken rocks which are laid down to the westward. The south side of the Boomkins lies in latitude 5° 56' south, and longitude 108° 21' east.

In the morning, we saw Carawang Point on Java, bearing south-south-west six or seven miles; and at five in the afternoon of the 27th, we anchored in Batavia Road, after a passage from Port Jackson of twenty-six weeks.

[A Table of the winds and weather, etc. on a passage from Port Jackson, New South Wales, to Batavia in the Waaksamheid Transport.] [The tables are included in the HTML version]