76 
SURVEY OF THE INTERTROPICAL 
1821. Heywood’s Red Island : it is rocky and of small 
Aug. 14. extent, and apparently quite barren. We were 
soon afterwards abreast of a strait leading be- 
tween some rocky islands to the southward ; 
which, as it appeared to be free from danger, we 
purposed to steer through. The brig entered it 
at noon, when it was high water, and as she 
advanced and reached the narrow part, the ebb- 
tide was setting so strong against us that, al- 
though we were sailing five knots by the log, we 
were losing ground ; we continued, however, to 
persevere for three hours and a half, and had run 
nearly twenty miles by the log, without gaining 
an inch ; the breeze then died away, and not be- 
ing able to stem the tide, we steered back for an- 
chorage, but it was dark and late before a favour- 
able bottom was found, so that we lost all the 
progress that we had gained since noon. 
]5. The next morning, after taking angles from 
the sun’s rising amplitude, we got underweigh 
and stood towards the strait, to make another 
attempt to pass through it. The view that was 
obtained yesterday evening from the mast-head, 
before we put about to look for anchorage, in- 
duced us to suppose that many reefs existed in 
the neighbourhood of its south entrance, for one 
of very extensive size was observed dry, lying 
off the south-west end of the island that bounds 
