Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.1): between the years 1826 and 1836 : describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagles's circumnavigation of the globe

Dec. 1829. unexplored opkxtngs — otway bay. S71 knowing her latitude within five miles of the truth, cannot fail to make it out, if the weather is tolerably clear. Wild fowl and shell-fish were very scarce there, probably because the Fuegians had scared or consumed them. From the top of a mountain, at the east end of the large island, I saw a great way down two channels or openings, which appeared to run far to the eastward, among many islands and very broken land. Such a succession of islets, rocks, and breakers, as the coast presented, was astonishing : many hundreds were counted while looking eastward from one station only. " I wished much to know where these openings led, and whether there was a direct communication through them to the Strait, as seemed almost certain; but considering the time already spent, the extent of coast to be surveyed, and the small advantage of such information, except to satisfy curiosity, I determined to proceed to the next prominent headland, a moun- tain at the S.E. extremity of Otway Bay, whose position I had already fixed with respect to stations on Landfall Island. " If there is a passage through those openings into Otway Bay, it must be unfit for vessels, being hampered with outlying rocks and breakers among which she could find no shelter in the event of rainy weather coming on before she cleared them ; and clouds and rain are prevalent. As yet we had been ex- tremely fortunate, in being under sail at intervals of fine wea- ther, and anchored during the gales ; but this was partly owing to a very careful attention to the barometer and sym- piesometer. " Having left Latitude Bay, we stood off until midnight, and then in shore again, carrying a press of sail all the time, in order to ' hold our own' against our old enemy, the current. " At daylight (29th), not having been swept to leeward by the current, we were in a good position for continuing the survey from the place left the previous night. We bore up as soon as the land could be distinctly seen, — rounded Landfall Island very near the outer rocks, and then steered for Cape Tate (the extremity of the mountain I mentioned yesterday). Those outlying rocks are not very dangerous, as the sea 2b 2 "