THE PACIFIC OCEAN, 
the caufe what it will. But as all imaginable care was taken 
in heaving and keeping the log, and every neceflary allow¬ 
ance made for lee-way, heave of the fea, and other fuch 
circumftances, I cannot attribute thofe errors that did hap¬ 
pen, to any other caufe hut currents; but more particularly 
when the error was conftantly the fame way, for feveral 
days fucceftively. 
On the contrary, if we find the fhip a-head of the rec¬ 
koning on one day, and a-flern of it on another, we have 
reafon to believe that fuch errors are owing to accidental 
caufes, and not to currents. This feems to have been the 
cafe in our palTage between England and Teneriffe. But, 
from the time of our leaving that ifland, till the 15th of 
Auguft, being then in the latitude of 12 0 North, and longi¬ 
tude 24 0 Weft, the fhip was carried i° 20' of longitude to the 
Weftward of her reckoning. At this ftation, the currents 
took a contrary direction, and fet to Eaft South Eaft, at the 
rate of twelve or fourteen miles a day, or twenty-four hours, 
till we arrived into the latitude of 5 0 North, and longitude of 
20 0 Weft; which was our moft Eafteiiy fituation after leav¬ 
ing the Cape de Verde Iflands, till we got to the Southward. 
For in this fituation the wind came Southerly, and we tacked 
and ftretched to the Weftward; and, for two or three days, 
could not find that our reckoning was affecfted by any cur¬ 
rent. So that, I judged, we were between the current that 
generally, if not conftantly, fets to the Eaft upon the coaft 
of Guinea, and that which fets to the Weft toward the 
coaft of Brafil. 
This Wefterly current was not confiderable till we got 
into 2 0 North, and 25 0 Weft. From this ftation, to 3 0 South 
and 30° Weft, the fhip, in the fpace of four days, was car¬ 
ried one hundred and fifteen miles in the direction of South 
1 Weft 
47 
1776, 
November. 
5 --v- i 
