James Cook - A Journal of the proceedings of His Majesty's Bark Endeavour on a voyage round the world, by Lieutenant James Cook, Commander, commencing the 25th of May 1768 - 23 Oct. 1770: No. 307

New Wales or East Coast of New Holland

with lefs [less] danger, with this View went under sail at day light in the morning & stood out NE for the NW end of Lizard Island leaving Eagle Island to windward of us having the Pinnace ahead of us sounding &  here we found a good Channell wherein we had from 9 to 14 fam at Noon the N. end of Lizard Island bore ESE dist. one Mile Lat. observed 14º38'. depth of water 14 fam. we now took the Pinnace in tow knowing that there were no dangers until we got out to the Reefs.
Sunday 14th. Winds at SE a steady gale by 2pm we got out to the outermost reefs & just fetched to windward of one of the openings I had discover'd from the Island we tacked & made a short trip to the SW while the Master went in the Pinnace to examine the Channel who soon made the Signal for the Ship to follow which we accordingly did & in a short time got safe out this Channel lies N½N 3 Lg. from Lizard Island, it is about one third of a mile broad & 25 or 30 fam deep or more for the moment we were without the breakers we had no ground with 100 fam of line & found a large Sea rowling in from the SE by this I was well afsured [assured] we were got without all the Shoals which gave us no small joy after having been intangled among Islands &  Shoals more or lefs [less] ever since the 26th of May in which time we have sail'd above 360 Leagues by the Sea without ever having a Leadman out of the Chains when the Ship was under sail, a Circumstance that perhaps never hapned to any ship before & yet it was here absolutely necefsary. I should have been very happy to have had it in my power to have keept in with the land in order to have explor'd the Coast to the northern extremity of the Country which I think we were not far off, for I firmly believe this land will not join to New Guinea, but this I hope soon either to prove or disprove & the reasons I have before afsign'd will I presume be thought sufficient for my leaving the Coast at this time, not but what I intend to get in with it again as soon as I can do it with safety. The pafsage or channel we now came out by I have named [blank space] lies in the Latitude of 14º32'S. it may always be found & known by the 3 high Islands within it which I have called the
[Margin note] Islands of Direction
Islands of Direction because by their means a safe pafsage may be found even by strangers in within the Main reef & quite into the Main, Lizard Island which is the Northernmost & largest of the 3 affords snug Anchorage under the NW side of it, Fresh water & wood for fuel & the low Island & the Reefs which lay between it & the Main abound with Turtle & other fish which may be caught at all Seasons of the year/except in such blowing seas as we have lately had/ all three things considered there is perhaps not a better place on the whole Coast for a Ship to refresh at than this Island. I had forget to mention in its proper place that not only on this Island but on Eagle Island &  in several places of the Sea beach in & about Endeavour River we found Bamboos, Cocoa, Nutts, the seeds of some