17&0. THE PACIFIC OCEAN. 407 



since we left the Typa. The variation was found to 

 be, in the forenoon, 0° 39' W. 



On the 17th, we had heavy gales from the east by 

 north, with a rough tumbling sea, and the weather 

 overcast and boisterous. On the 18th, the wind still 

 continued to blow strong, and the sea to run high, 

 we altered our course to south-west, by south ; and, 

 at noon, being in latitude 12° 34', longitude 132°, 

 we began to steer a point more to the westward for 

 Pulo Sapata, which we saw on the 19th, at four in 

 the afternoon, bearing north-west by west, about four 

 leagues distant. This small, high, barren island is 

 called Sapata, from its resemblance of a shoe. Our 

 observations, compared with Mr. Bayly's time-keeper, 

 place it in latitude 10° 4' N., longitude 109° 10' 

 E. The gale had, at this time, increased with such 

 violence, and the sea ran so high, as to oblige us to 

 close-reef the top-sails. During the last three days, 

 the ships had outrun their reckoning at the rate of 

 twenty miles a-day ; and as we could not attribute the 

 whole of this to the effects of a following sea, we im- 

 puted it in part to a current, which, according to 

 my own calculations, had set forty-two miles to the 

 south south-west, between the noon of the 19th and 

 the noon of the 20th ; and is taken into the account 

 in determining the situation of the island. 



After passing Sapata, we steered to the westward ; 

 and at midnight sounded, and had ground with fifty 

 fathoms of line, over a fine sandy bottom. In the 

 morning of the 20th, the wind becoming more mo- 

 derate, we let out the reefs, and steered west by south 

 for Pulo Condore. At noon the latitude was 8° 46' 

 N., longitude 106° 45 ' E. ; and, at half-past twelve, 

 we got sight of the island, bearing west. At four, 

 the extremes of Pulo Condore, and the islands that 

 lie off it, bore south-east and south-west by west ; 

 our distance from the nearest islands being two miles. 

 We kept to the north of the islands, and stood for 

 the harbour on the south-west end of Condore, which 



r> d 4 



