COASTS OF AUSTRALIA. 
415 
water from the freshness of the sea-breeze, it i820- 
gained as much as nine inches in one hour and Sept. 20 . 
twenty minutes. 
From the alarming increase of the leak, it 
became absolutely necessary to ascertain the 
full extent of the damage, in order that we might, 
if possible, repair it, so as not to prevent the 
further prosecution of the voyage, or at least to 
ensure our return to Port Jackson. 
We were fortunately upon a part of the coast 
where the tides had a sufficient rise and fall to 
enable us to lay her on shore without difficulty ; 
but the beaches in York Sound and Prince Fre- 
deric’s Plarbour were all too steep for the pur- 
pose. The spring tides were now at hand ; and, 
it being on this account very important that it 
should be done as speedily as possible, I left 
the cutter the following morning in search of a 21. 
convenient place, in which I was fortunately very 
soon successful ; for, at the bottom of the port in 
which we had anchored, we landed on the sandy 
beach of a bay which, to my inexpressible satis- 
faction, was found in every way suitable for the 
object we had in view. Deferring, therefore, any 
further examination for a more convenient op- 
portunity, I hastened on board, and, in the course 
of the morning, anchored the cutter close to the 
beach. 
