Narrative of the surveying voyages of his majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle (vol.2): between the years 1826 and 1836 : describing their examination of the southern shores of South America, and the Beagles's circumnavigation of the globe

226 SOUNDING — CURRENT. Feb. the Falkland Islands. Towards evening we rounded to for soundings, but the sea was so high and short, that a man* at the jib-boom-end was pitched more than a fathom under water. Jie held on manfully, both to the boom and the lead-line, and 9,s he rose above the wave, blowing and dripping, hove the lead forward as steadily as ever.-f- My own feehngs at seeing him disappear may be imagined : — it was some time before we sounded again. This heavy though short sea seemed to be caused by the flood tide, coming from the southward, and meeting waves raised by strong north-west winds. The stream of tide set us a mile each hour north-eastward. At eight the wind and sea were too much for us to run with ; therefore, watching an opportunity, we rounded to :|: under close-reefed main-topsail, trysails, and fore-staysail. Next morning (27th) we bore up, though the sea was still heavy, and steered to pass south of the Falklands. Our observations at noon showed that since leaving Good Success Bay we had been set more than thirty miles to the north-east. This effect, whe- ther caused by the flood tide-stream, or by a current indepen- dent of the tide, would be dangerous to ships endeavouring to pass westward of the Falklands during bad weather, and in all probability caused the embayment of H.M.S. Eden, Captain W. F. W. Owen, when she was saved by his skill : also of a French storeship, the Durance ; and of several other vessels. At noon, on the 28th, we found that the current or stream of tide had set us more towards the east than to the northward, during the preceding twenty-four hours, while we were at the south side of the islands. At daylight on the 1st of March (having passed the pre- ceding night standing off" and on under easy sail), we made Cape Pembroke, at the eastern extremity of the Falklands. The weather was very cold and raw, with frequent hail-squalls, • Nicholas White. t Two men in the staysail netting were also dipped under water, at a second plunge, from which White escaped. X The barometer was below 29 inches. See Meteorological Journal in Appendix.