April 1830. 



FALSE CAPE — NASSAU BAY. 



425 



suited the chronometers, or our hmited time ; therefore we wore 

 round and steered (by WeddelFs 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 



