MANILLA AND SOOLOO SEA. 



3G3 



the south-southeast, from li to 2 knots. There is no running fresh 

 water on the Mangsee Islands, but in case of necessity it may be had 

 by digging wells. All the island reefs and shoals in this strait are 

 much frequented by turtle in their season, and beche de mer are also 

 found on the reefs. 



EQUATORIAL PASSAGE. 



The Equatorial Passage may be said to begin off the south point of 

 Mindanao ; thence steer for the Serangani Islands, passing to the north- 

 ward of them, or between them and the Tolour Islands, into the Pacific, 

 and onwards towards the equator. If the wind should be from the 

 northeast, it is advisable to keep as far to windward as possible, to 

 weather the north cape of the Island of Morty, and allowance ought 

 to be made for the current which sets sometimes through Morty Straits 

 to the southwest; but most frequently, as these straits are opened, it 

 will be found setting to the northward and eastward. When in 2° 30' 

 north, the westerly wind will be fallen in with, and may be preserved 

 by passing just to the northward of the Admiralty Islands. The wind 

 may be found at times from the northward and westward, as well as 

 southward and westward ; and extend as far to the east as the lon- 

 gitude of 170° east. Before reaching that longitude, it will be well to 

 borrow towards the Solomon Group, passing along to the eastward of 

 it : this may be readily done during the season of the westerly mon- 

 soon, from September to March, but a favorable wind will be found 

 to prevail during all seasons, and enable the navigator to proceed, 

 without interruption, over this route, which shortens the time and 

 distance between the ports of the China Seas, and those of the South 

 Pacific, New Holland, New Zealand, the Pacific Islands, and the 

 whaling-grounds, to which our vessels are continually passing by the 

 circuitous routes around New Holland and through the North Pacific. 



The Equatorial Passage, it will be perceived, is closely connected 

 with the Sooloo Sea, and is favorable for vessels from the southern 

 part of the China Seas, by passing through the Straits of Balabac, 

 the western entrance to the Sooloo Sea, whence a direct route across 

 that sea may be steered for the Straits of Basillan, and thus enter it. 

 The distance of one strait from the other across this sea is but 300 

 miles, and few shoals interrupt the navigation. There are many 

 coral-banks, but they all have sufficient depth of water to pass safely 



