210 A VOVAGE to Book Vlir; 



the wind a2:ain veered to the N. W. and continued so 

 the whole day ; the two succeeding days at N. N. W. 

 and N. W. but on the 30th veered to"^the W. N. W. 

 On the 31st it shifted to S. S. W. and on the 1st of 

 January veered round to the S. S. S. E. and S. E. 

 Those tlierefore who endeavour to gain such winds, 

 stand oif from the coast till they fall in with them; 

 and this sometimes liappens at a greater distance than 

 at others ; I mean during the summer; for in winter 

 a difterent course is necessary, as we shall explain in ^ 

 the se(}uel. 



The atmosphere of these seas is generally filled 

 •with, thick vapcDiirs to a considerable height : so that 

 often for four or il\e days successively, there is no 

 possibility of observing the latitude.- These fogs 

 the sailors call Sures pardos, and are fond of them, 

 as they are a sure sign that the wind will be fresh 

 and constant, and that they shall not be troubled 

 with calms. At this time it is very common to see 

 the horizon filled with a dark cloud, but of no 

 dangerftus consccjuence, except freshening the wind 

 a little more than usual, and a short shower of rain ; 

 the weather, in four or five minutes, becoming as 

 fair as before. The same thing presages the turbo- 

 nada, or short hurricane; for the cloud is no sooner 

 formed on the horizon, than it begins, according to 

 the sailor's phrase, to open it,s eye^ i. e. the cloud 

 breaks, and the part of the horizon where it was 

 formed becomes clear. These turbonadas are most 

 common after you are passed the 17th or 18th degree 

 of latitude. 



Near the tropic, that is, between the parallels of 

 fourteen or sixteen and twenty-eight degrees, calms 

 greatly prevail during the months of January, Fe- 

 bruary, and even March; and in some years more 

 than in others; but near the coast they are not so 

 common, on account of the land breezes, which are 

 always between the S. E. and E. S. E. Formerly, 



and 



