Th* Run to Botany Bay* 4 % 
In the morning of the 9th, being in latitude 3$ 129 S. we 
faw a tropic bird, which in fo high a latitude is very uncom- 
mon. 
In the morning of the 10th, being in latitude 38: 51 S. 
longitude 202 : 43 W. we found the variation, by the ampli- 
tude, to be 11 : 25 E. and by the azimuth 11 : zo. 
In the morning of the nth,: the variation was 13 : 48, 
which is two degrees and an half more than the day before, * 
though I expected to have found it lefs. 
In the courfe of the 13th, being in latitude 39 : 23 S. lon- 
gitude 204 : 2.W. I found the variation to be 12 : 27 E. and 
in the morning of the 14th, it was 1 1 : 30 ; this day we alfo 
faw fome flying fifli. On the 1 $th, we faw an egg bird and a 
gannet, and as thefe are birds that never go far from the land, 
we continued to found all night, but had no ground with 130 
fathom, . At noon on the 16th, we were in latitude 39 : 43 3 ,. 
longitude 208° W. At about two o’clock the wind came 
about to the W. S. W. upon which we tacked and flood to the 
N. W. ; foon after a frnall land-bird perched upon the rig- 
ging, but we had no ground with 120 fathom. At eight we 
wore and flood to the fouthward till twelve at night, and then 
wore and flood to the N. W. till four in the morning, when 
we again flood to the fouthward, having a freih gale at W. S, ■ 
W. with fqualls and dark weather till nine, when the weather- 
became clear, .and there being little wind, we had an oppor- 
tunity to take feveral obfervations of the fun and moon, the 
mean refult of which gave 207 : 56 W. longitude : our lati- 
tude at noon was 39 : 36 S. We had .now a hard gale from 
the fouthward, and a great fea from the fame quarter, which 
obliged us to run under our fore-fail and mi?en all night, 
during which we founded every two hours, . but had no ground’ 
with 120 fathom. 
In the morning of the 1 8th, we faw two Port Egmont hens, . 
and a pintadobira, which are certain flgns of approaching land, 
and indeed by our reckoning we could not be far from it, for 
our longitude was now one degree to the weflward, of the eaflr 
fide of Van Diemen’s land, according to the longitude laid 
down by Tafman, whom we could not fuppofe to have erred 
much in fo lhort arun as from this land to New Zealand, and by ■ 
our latitude we could not he above fifty or fifty-five leagues 
from the place whence he took his departure. All this day 
v.e had frequent fqualls and a great^pwsH. At one in the 
morning we brought to and founded, but had no ground with 
130 fathom ; at fix we faw land extending from N. E, to W. 
at the diftance of five or fix leagues, having eighty fathom wa- 
ter, with a fine fandy bottom. 
We continued Handing weflward, with the wind at S. S. W. 
till eight, when, we made all the fail we could, and bore away 
