372 CAPE TATE—FINCHAM ISLANDS. Dec. 1829. 
always breaks violently upon them. In crossing Otway Bay, 
the morning being clear, I was enabled to add considerably to 
what had been already learned respecting the shores and dangers 
around it.(e) 
“< Off Cape Tate, to the north and west, lie the College 
Rocks. Those nearest the Cape are also nearest the track of a 
ship running along the land, and half a mile west of them lies 
a detached and dangerous rock, under water. The sea generally 
breaks on it. 
“© We had very thick weather when close to those rocks, 
which obliged us to ¢ haul our wind’ for half an hour; when, 
as it cleared, we steered round Cape Tate, about a mile off 
shore. I was in hopes of gaining an anchorage between it and 
the Fincham Islands, and therefore kept as near the land as I 
could; but seeing numerous breakers a-head and outside of 
me, I altered our course, and steered to go outside of all the 
rocks. After we had passed some of them, a large bight opened 
out to the north-eastward, and tempted me to haul up for it. 
We entered the sound at noon, and stood on for nearly four 
miles without finding an anchorage, or even gaining bottom with 
fifty fathoms of line, although at the entrance we had from 
twenty to ten fathoms. Thick weather coming on, made me 
very anxious to anchor somewhere, and we were now too much 
hampered to stand out again. We appeared to be among a 
multitude of islands, very near each other, yet without any 
anchorage between them ; therefore, having no other resource, 
we let go both anchors upon the end of a steep-sided islet, where 
one fell into seven, the other into ten fathoms water, and hooked 
the rocks. Veering half a cable on each, we found forty fathoms 
under the stern, with a similar rocky bottom; so that we had 
the pleasant prospect of shouldering both our anchors, and 
drifting into deep water, with the first strong squall. During 
the remainder of that day, our boats were looking for better 
anchorage, but without success ; they found patches of rocky 
(e) In Otway Bay, not far from Landfall Island, is a rock on which 
Mr. Low found Fuegians living among a number of (apparently) tame 
seals. See second volume.—R. F. 
