Sep 20, 1792 Home Providence Log Sep 22, 1792
Revised Aug 27 2021
1 pm: Fair Weather and Cloudy with bright intervals and little Wind
2 pm: Saw Birds of the Gull kind, Boobies and Tropick Birds, Bonetos
6 pm: Made the Signal for the Boats to return on board, and spoke the Assistant to lead to the NW untill after Sun set, and then to haul the Wind for the Night waring [wearing] & Signal every 2 hours.
8 pm: In 2nd Reefs and Boats
10 pm: Wore
12 mid: Wore
2 am: Wore
4 am: Out Boats and sent them to lead a Head of the Assistant.
5 am: Bore away at day dawn.
8 am: Fresh Breezes and fair Weather. Porpoises and flying Fish seen.
Served Hot Breakfast of Portable Soup Gruel and Portable Soup and Sour Krout in the Pease
for Dinner.
12 noon: Fair Weather and Hazy. Under whole Top Sails and Fore and Fore Top Mast Steering
Sails and Top Gallant Sails. Brig & Boats Leading
Soundings a fine bottom of Grey Sand & kind of Mud.
My Soundings full confirm to me that we are passing in a fair way through the Straits, and Captain Cook's Track where he stood to the Northward towards the Island St. Bartholemew.
Towards Sun set I made the Signal for the Boats to return on Board, and having hoisted them in, I hailed Lieut. Portlock to lead to the NW untill dusk, and to keep on a Wind during the Night, waring [wearing] Ship as I made the Signal to him. By this means we kept in known ground untill day light, when I sent the Boats a head, for I apprehended we might fall on some Banks too suddenly to prevent accident, as I now considered they would most likely consist of Sand, and not Coral Rocks which are more easily discerned.
Great caution is necessary in having carefull and proper People on the look-out from aloft. I had never less than 4 Men and sometimes more, one of these was generally the Master, yet an extraordinary proof of the Character of Seamen happened in two instances running between the Shoals. One Day a Man who was on the look out on the Fore Yard was caught making a Chip Hat, and another day, the fellow who had the look out on the Main Top Gallant Yard was observed reading a Play. At each of those times we were in dangerous situations.
Sep 20, 1792 Home Providence Log Sep 22, 1792