When we had been here about a week, we hal’d our ship into a small sandy cove, at a spring-tide, as far as she would float; and at low water she was left dry, and the sand dry without us near half a mile, for the sea riseth and falleth here about five fathoms. The flood runs north by east, and the ebb south by west. All the neep-tides we lay wholly aground, for the sea did not come near us by about a hundred yards. We had therefore time enough to clean our ship’s bottom, which we did very well. Most of our men lay ashore in a tent, where our sails were mending; and our strikers brought home turtle and manatee every day, which was our constant food.
While we lay here, I did endeavour to perswade our men to go to some English factory, but was threatened to be turned ashore and left here for it.
This made me desist, and patiently wait for some more convenient place and opportunity to leave them than here; which I did hope I should accomplish in a short time, because they did intend, when they went from hence, to bear down towards Cape Comorin. In their way thither they design’d to visit also the Island Cocos, which lieth in latitude 12° 12´ north, by our drafts: hoping there to find of that fruit, the island having its name from thence.
EXTRACT FROM SLOAN MS. 3236, ENTITLED “THE ADVENTURES OF WILLIAM DAMPIER, WITH OTHERS [1686–87], WHO LEFT CAPTAIN SHERPE IN THE SOUTH SEAS, AND TRAVALED BACK OVER LAND THROUGH THE COUNTRY OF DARIEN,” pp. 445 to 450.
Wee stood away to the southward, intending to see New Holland, and mett nothing worth observing till the first day of December, and then, being in latit. 13° 50´, wee were close aboard a showle, which wee lay by for in the night; it lyes S. by W. from the N.W. end of Timore about seventy leagues. Wee steered to weather it but could not, therefore bore away to the eastward of it; it lyes in a triangle, with many sharp rocks about water, and on the south side is a small spitt of land.
This showle is laid downe within twenty leagues of New Holland due south, but wee made our course south, yett run into latitude 16° 50´ before wee made land, which is forty odd leagues; so that by our runn, except wee had a current against us, which wee did not perceive, New Holland is laid downe nearer then it should be to those islands in the south seas by forty leagues.