At 5 p. m. bottom was found at fifteen brazas,
with the same kind of bottom material. Sounding was continued and the
bottom was found to be as noted in the large map. The current was so
great at the mouth of this port that at 8:30 p. m., with a strong wind
from the west-southwest with full sails, the current allowed them to go
not more than a mile and a half per hour, which shows that the current
must go at least six miles at the middle of the channel. The swiftness
of the current, the fact that the launch had not returned and that night
was coming on, made it necessary to seek for an anchorage; this was done
with great care and precaution; as the force of the wind made it
necessary to have full sail, it was feared that some of the rigging
might give way. For that reason, soundings were taken continually with a
20-lb. lead, and a line of sixty brazas could not reach bottom, either
in the channel or near the point. This seemed very strange until it was
realized that the current was carrying the lead and it did not strike
bottom. They continued thus until they were one league inside the mouth
of the bay and a quarter of a mile from the shore, when the wind
suddenly stopped.
Pages:
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103