THE S. W. COAST OF MEXICO. 



39 



If, when off the Gulf of TeeoantepeC;, any of the 

 hard breezes which go by that name should come 

 off, it is advisable, if sail can be carried, to ease the 

 sheets off, and run well to the westward, without seek- 

 ing to make northing ; westing being, at all stages 

 of that passage, by far the most difficult to accom- 

 plish. On approaching Acapulco the shore should 

 be got hold of, and the land and sea-breezes turned 

 to account. 



This passage in summer is to be made by taking 

 advantage of the difference in direction between 

 the winds in the night and the winds in the 

 day. During some months, the land winds, it 

 is said, come more off the land than at others, 

 and that the sea-breezes blow more directly on 

 shore; but in March we seldom found a greater 

 difference than four points; and to profit essen- 

 tially by this small change, constant vigilance 

 and activity are indispensable. The sea-breeze sets 

 in, with very little variation as to time, about noon, 

 or a little before, and blows with more or less 

 strength till the evening. It was usually freshest 

 at two o'clock ; gradually fell after four ; and died 

 away as the sun went down. The land-breeze was 

 by no means so regular as to its periods or its force. 



