Dec. 1829. UKEXPLOllKB OPENINGS— OTWAY BAY. 371 



knowing her latitude within five miles of the truth, cannot fail 

 to make it out, if the weather is tolerably clear. Wild fowl 

 and shell-fish were very scarce there, probably because the 

 Fuegians had scared or consumed them. From the top of a 

 mountain, at the east end of the large island, I saw a great 

 way down two channels or openings, which appeared to run 

 far to the eastward, among many islands and very broken 

 land. Such a succession of islets, rocks, and breakers, as the 

 coast presented, was astonishing : many hundreds were counted 

 while looking eastward from one station only. 



" I wished much to know where these openings led, and 

 whether there was a direct communication through them to the 

 Strait, as seemed almost certain; but considering the time 

 already spent, the extent of coast to be surveyed, and the small 

 advantage of such information, except to satisfy curiosity, I 

 determined to proceed to the next prominent headland, a moun- 

 tain at the S.E. extremity of Otway Bay, whose position I had 

 already fixed with respect to stations on Landfall Island. 



" If there is a passage through those openings into Otway 

 Bay, it must be unfit for vessels, being hampered with outlying 

 rocks and breakers among which she could find no shelter in 

 the event of rainy weather coming on before she cleared them ; 

 and clouds and rain are prevalent. As yet we had been ex- 

 tremely fortunate, in being under sail at intervals of fine wea- 

 ther, and anchored during the gales ; but this was partly 

 owing to a very careful attention to the barometer and sym- 

 piesometer. 



" Having left Latitude Bay, we stood off until midnight, 

 and then in shore again, carrying a press of sail all the time, in 

 order to ' hold our own' against our old enemy, the current. 



" At daylight (29th), not having been swept to leeward 

 by the current, we were in a good position for continuing the 

 survey from the place left the previous night. We bore up as 

 soon as the land could be distinctly seen, — rounded Landfall 

 Island very near the outer rocks, and then steered for Cape 

 Tate (the extremity of the mountain I mentioned yesterday). 

 Those outlying rocks are not very dangerous, as the sea 



2 B 2 



