12 
CAPE ST. SEBASTIAN. 
occasion to make to the Admiral respecting the dangers to be 
apprehended from French privateers in that channel, which 
fortunately happened to coincide with other important views 
entertained' by him, somewhat connected with the same 
quarter. 
The vessels appointed for this service were the Racehorse and 
Staunch brigs of war commanded by Captains Fisher and Street. 
The former obligingly offered me a passage on board his vessel as 
far as Mosambique, which I gladly accepted, and on the 27th of 
July the three ships left Simon's Bay on their destination. I shall 
pass over the first part of our voyage, as nothing particular 
occurred worthy of notice, except a violent storm of thunder 
and lightning on the 5th of August, in latitude 33° 38', which 
was tremendously awful. 
I shall now proceed to describe the events which took place in 
our passage through the Mosambique channel. 
On the 15th of August we made the land between the Capes 
Corrientes and St. Sebastian. As we approached the shore we had 
soundings from 35 to 25 fathoms on a steep bank. The current 
in this place ran strong to the southward, impeding our course 
not less than sixty miles in the twenty-four hours. The season 
being late and the weather rather unsettled. Captain Fisher, 
anxious to lose as little time as possible, dispatched the Staunch 
and Marian on the evening of the 16th direct to Mosambique, 
while we proceeded along shore in the Racehorse for the purpose 
of visiting Sofala. On the 17th we made Cape St. Sebastian, 
a moderately high blulF point, from which a low sandy beach 
extends out to the north-east ; during the day we stretched along 
