Dr. Mac Culloch on the Chart of Shetland. 16 



essential circumstance of soundings ; so that in thick weather, 

 in which it was my fate to enter it, it is necessary to keep the 

 lead always going. In speaking formerly of the incorrectness 

 of the islands, I remarked that this harbour was principally 

 formed by the island of Hascosea, which covers it, while, ac- 

 cording to the chart, no vessel would venture to run for it in a 

 south-east wind, to which, according to the draught, it appears 

 to be open. 



Fetlar contains no harbour, yet, for want of soundings in the 

 chart, vessels might be inclined to take Trestra Bay, where the 

 shoal water of this very bad place ought to have been noticed. 

 Uyea Sound is properly marked as an anchorage, but the anchor 

 is laid down too near to the shore of Unst. 



Captain Ramage's chart of the important harbour of Balta 

 Sound has supplied the deficiency of the general chart in this 

 place, but a reduced copy ought to have been added to it, as 

 it is impossible otherwise to venture on this harbour, particularly 

 by the northern passage, where the relative position of Balta 

 and Unst is extremely erroneous. It has been long enough 

 before the public to leave the proprietors of the Shetland chart 

 no excuse for not having appended it to the editions sold in 

 1820. 



There is no other harbour in Unst, and although an anchor 

 is laid down in Cloup Voe, at the north end of Yell, it is not 

 frequented. The difficulty of beating out of Whalfirth Voe, 

 against the western swell, also renders that an inconvenient 

 harbour, a circumstance of which notice ought to have been 

 taken in the chart. To the southward of this, near Sandiwick, are 

 two harbours where vessels may lie securely, but in neither of 

 these is an anchor marked. 



It is scarcely necessary to notice the omission of anchorage 

 marks in the voes to the south of Waterholm, as these har- 

 bours are not wanted in a channel where so many others are at 

 hand ; but it ought to have been remarked that there is a very 

 good and a very convenient anchorage in Urha Voe, for vessels 

 which are either employed in Yell Sound, or have not the good 

 fortune of wind or tide to effect their passage through it. This 



