April 1830. FALSE CAPE—NASSAU BAY. 495 
suited the chronometers, or our limited time ; therefore we wore 
round and steered (by Weddell’s chart) for the western part 
of the Hermite Islands, intending to run along the land from 
West Cape. The wind became more moderate towards noon, 
but the weather got so thick that no part of the land could be 
made out distinctly ; and supposing that a point of land which 
I saw was Cape Spencer, we steered directly for it, as the day 
was drawing to a close and obliged me to give up my intention 
of coasting. Nearing the land, I found it resembled the point 
I had seen from Henderson Island, and supposed to be the 
S.W. extreme of Nassau Bay, but did not correspond to any 
part of the Hermite Islands, as shewn by Captain King’s plan. 
Evening was approaching, thick misty clouds shut out other 
land from our view, but being a weather shore, I trusted to 
finding anchorage somewhere, and stood on. 
‘“‘ The wind increased, and blew in very strong squalls off 
shore, obliging us to carry. low sail until we had run seve- 
ral miles along the land in smooth water, when we anchored 
at the entrance of a bay, in thirteen fathoms water, over a 
coarse sandy bottom. <A low projecting point covered us from 
the force of the wind as it then blew; and the land on each 
side from all other westerly winds: but the squalls increased so 
violently in the early part of the night, that although in smooth 
water, with eighty fathoms of chain out, the top-gallant masts 
down, and yards braced up, the vessel drove, and we were 
obliged to let go another anchor, and veer a long scope of 
cable ;. after which she held on firmly through the night. 
*« 2d. At daylight we hove up the best bower, but found 
one fluke broken off. After getting the sheet anchor to the 
bows, and the broken one in-board, we weighed and made sail 
to windward, in search of a good anchorage. When the wea- 
ther cleared in the morning, I had discovered that we were in 
Nassau Bay, near Orange Bay, and that the curiously-peaked 
headland we had passed was ‘ False Cape Horn,’ the same 
which I had seen from Henderson Island. Finding this the 
case, I determined to turn the mistake to account, and at once 
set to work in this quarter, postponing our visit to the Hermite 
