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

April 1830. false cape — Nassau bay. 425 suited the chronometers, or our hmited time ; therefore we wore round and steered (by WeddelFs chart) for the western part of the Hermite Islands, intending to run along the land from West Cape. The wind became more moderate towards noon, but the weather got so thick that no part of the land could be made out distinctly ; and supposing that a point of land which I saw was Cape Spencer, we steered directly for it, as the day was drawing to a close and obliged me to give up my intention of coasting. Nearing the land, I found it resembled the point I had seen from Henderson Island, and supposed to be the S.W. extreme of Nassau Bay, but did not correspond to any part of the Hermite Islands, as shewn by Captain King's plan. Evening was approaching, thick misty clouds shut out other land from our view, but being a weather shore, I trusted to finding; anchorage somewhere, and stood on. " The wind increased, and blew in very strong squalls off shore, obliging vis to carry, low sail until we had run seve- ral miles along the land in smooth water, when we anchoi'ed at the entrance of a bay, in thirteen fathoms water, over a coarse sandy bottom. A low projecting point covered us from the force of the wind as it then blew ; and the land on each side from all other westerly winds : but the squalls increased so violently in the early part of the night, that although in smooth water, with eighty fathoms of chain out, the top-gallant masts down, and yards braced up, the vessel drove, and we were obliged to let go another anchor, and veer a long scope of cable ; after which she held on firmly through the night. " 2d. At daylight we hove up the best bower, but found one fluke broken off". After getting: the sheet anchor to the bows, and the broken one in-board, we weighed and made sail to Avindward, in search of a good anchorage. When the wea- ther cleared in the morning, I had discovered that we were in Nassau Bay, near Orange Bay, and that the curiously-peaked headland we had passed was ' False Cape Horn,' the same which I had seen from Henderson Island. Finding this the case, I determined to turn the mistake to account, and at once set to work in this quarter, postponing our visit to the Hermite