678 A Sixth Memoir on the Law of Storms in India. [No. 127. 



At noon on the 27th, the Virginia was just on the S. E. edge 

 of the Macclesfield Shoal, and the " bank of heavy clouds in the 

 E. S. E. was, I have no doubt, the outer barrier of the storm, travel- 

 ling up from the S. E. between her and the Coast of Luconia.* To 

 noon the next day, 28th, she made a course of 75 miles to the N. 

 Eastward, and thus neared the track of the storm, but as the wind 

 held to the N. N. W., she could only, fortunately for her, make this 

 distance; but we find that the gale was veering rapidly with her, or 

 6 points in 7 hours, while she was hove to; or from noon on the 28th 

 till 9 p. m. when the wind was so far to the South, that she could 

 scud ; a proof, that it was travelling up with great rapidity, and pro- 

 bably passing near her position. It had, moreover, I am inclined 

 to think, not arrived at its full violence at that time. We find that 

 as it ought to do, it began with the Bee from the N. Eastward when 

 just outside, and that it veered to S. W., when she was laid on her 

 beam ends. There is the anomaly of the wind being South first, 

 and then becoming N. W. but as I have said we cannot account for 

 these anomalies when so near the land.t Upon the whole then, I 

 think we shall not be far wrong if we assign, as tolerably ascertained, 

 a course from S. 40° E. to the N. 40° W. for this storm. 



We should not forget that it is possible there may have been two 

 storms, one from the E. N. E. and another from the S. E., which may 

 have united near the Bee's position, and have caused the temporary 

 moderating and Southerly wind which tempted her to make sail, the 

 burst from the S. W. being the combined effect of both; but. for this 

 assumption, we have no sort of authority. 



TRACK No. XXII. 

 Lowther Castle's Storm. 

 Memorandum of the Lowther Castle's Storm from the India 



House, 

 \2th October, 1833. — H. C. S. Lowther Castle proceeding up the 

 China sea. Latitude 16° 30' N., longitude 117° 53' E. Noon, Baro- 

 meter 29.72, Thermometer 83°. 



* See Col. Reid and various logs in my memoirs for instances of these banks of 

 clouds. 



f I have omitted to notice another source of uncertainty as to the Bee's position 

 before noon of the 29th. I mean the heavy current to the Westward, which we know 

 prevails at times on the South Coast of China in these storms. 



