60 
SURVEV OF THE INTERTROPICAL 
1 ^. At daylight, on the 6th, we got under weigh 
Aug-. 6. to a light air of wind from the southward, to 
leave Prince Regent’s River; but notwithstand- 
ing the vessel was under all sail, she was very 
nearly thrown upon Lammas Island by the tide, 
which was setting with great strength through 
the shoal passage between it and Sight Point : 
as we past without it, we were not more than 
five yards from the rocks. The wind then 
fell to a dead calm, and the brig was per- 
fectly immoveable in the water ; but drifted by 
the tide, and whirled round by the eddies, we 
were fast approaching the body of the largest 
Midway Island, with a very great uncertainty on 
which side of it the tide would drift us : when 
we were about three hundred yards from the 
island, the direction of the stream changed, and 
carried us round its south-east side, at about two 
hundred yards from the shore, but close to the 
low rocks off its east end, on which we landed 
two days since. We were under great anxiety 
for fear of being driven over the reef, on which 
there could not have been sufficient water to 
have floated us; but our fears of that danger 
were soon over, for the tide swept us rapidly 
round it. At this moment a light air sprang 
up, which lasted only five minutes, but it was 
sufficient to carry us past the junction of the 
