CHAPTER III. 



PASSAGES. 



It was found necessary to insert in the Narrative some general 

 remarks connected with the Hydrography of the Expedition : the 

 detailed information belongs to this volume. In treating of the pas- 

 sages from port to port, I shall follow the order of the cruise, believing 

 it to be the most useful as well as the most convenient for reference. At 

 this day it may seem superfluous, or be deemed a work of supereroga- 

 tion, to make any remarks on the passage across the Atlantic, a sea so 

 much frequented : yet, strange as it may appear, there is no part of 

 the ocean where so many vigias are laid down on the charts, and of 

 which the accounts that have been published are so contradictory, or 

 in which there appears to be so great a necessity for a thorough exa- 

 mination, to set at rest the doubtful points, as the Atlantic. This 

 state of things seems to be tolerated by nautical men, who appear 

 averse to record or publish any observations that might tend to illu- 

 mine the paths of those who may pass after them, so that almost all 

 navigators are left to derive their knowledge from their own, often- 

 times dear-bought, experience. 



The recent publication of charts, by the Hydrographical Bureau, on 

 which are laid down the tracks of vessels, has had the effect to direct 

 attention to this subject. It would have been desirable if the " dead 

 reckoning" as well as the true daily positions had been laid down on 

 the charts, to show the currents, as well as the errors arising from bad 

 steering, &c. The tracks may give the approximate route of a vessel, 

 but all navigators are aware how great are the daily and unaccounta- 

 ble discrepancies, and how many causes combine to render the courses 

 and position of a vessel uncertain on the ocean. 



