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Remarkable Occurences in the South Seas
Fore & Middleparts little wind & dark cloudy wea.r, a latter fresh Gales & Cloudy with some rain.
PM had a Boat out & Shott several sorts of Birds, one of which was an Albatross as large as a Goose, whose wings when Extended measured 10 feet 2 inches; this was grey but these are of them all White except the very tip end of their Wings, another sort in size between an Albatross & a large Gull of a grey colour with a white Spot above their Tail about the Breadth of ones hand & sev.l other sorts ~
Fresh Gales with heavy squalls the firstp.t remainder little wind & Cloudy & very cold weather.
A Mod.te breeze of Wind with some Flying showers of hail & rain close upon a Wind all this day ~
A fresh breeze & dark cloudy w.r with some showers of rain the wind varying from W.t to NbW. obliged us to tack several times ~
Firstp.t cloudy with Squalls of wind & showers of rain & hail. Latterp.t thick hazey wea.r with frequent Showers ~
Fresh gales all this day sometimes squally with rain under Double reef Topsail in the night & Single reef Topsail in the Day.
The formerp.t of this day had fresh breezes & Dark cloudy wea.r in the night hard Squalls with rain & afterwards hazey rainy weather.
Formerp.t Light Airs with drizling rain, remainder a Mod.te breeze & Cloudy ~
First & Middlep.t fresh gales & cloudy latter little wind & clear having for sometime past generally found the Ship by Observ.n to the Northw.d of the Log which is not owing to a Curr.t as I at first imagin'd, but to a wrong Division of the Log line being 2½ feet in each Knot but this is now rectified ~
The firstp.t of these 24 Hours mod.te breezes & Cloudy, remainder fresh Gales & cloudy PM saw a great many Albatrosses & other Birds about the Ship, some were all white & about the size of Teal, took several Observations of the sun & moon & the result of which gave 90.13W.t Long.de from Greenwich, the Variat.n of the Compass by the Mean of several Azm.th 17.º E.t The Long.de by acc.t is less then that by Observ.n 37º which is about 20 Miles in these high Lat.de, & nearly Equal to the Error of the Log line beforementioned this near Agreement of the 2 Long.des proves to a Demonstration that we have had no Western Current since we left the Land ~
others to this day prefer the Strait of Magellan; As I have never been in those Straits can only from my Judgement on a Carefull Comparrison of the Diff.t Ships Journals that have passed them & those that have saild[sic] round Cape Horn particularly the Dolphins two last Voyages & this of ours, being made at the same season of the Year when one may reasonably expect the same Winds to prevail, the Dolphin in her last Voyage was 3 Months in getting through the Strait not reckoning the time she lay in Port Jamine & I am firmly persuaided[sic] from the Winds we have had that had we come by that Passage