TRANSCRIPTION
In the afternoon, after passing the range of mountains that lies along this coast, we sighted some very low land which began at the tip of a point sloping gently down to the sea. At first we thought it to be just a tongue of land that could not extend very far, but as we approached, it stretched further and further to the North, bearing somewhat East. We followed it closely until four o'clock, when, seeing the depth steadily decrease, we thought we had reached the head of the gulf. The lead then reported 7 and 8 fathoms, sandy bottom. As we had land in view to West likewise. we were no longer in any doubt as to our having entered a deep gulf, the width of which was unknown to us. Towards five o'clock we began to bear West a little, sounding continually. for we were in 7 and 8 fathoms all the time. However, at sunset we suddenly dropped to 5 fathoms and even less. We immediately bore away, keeping as much as possible on the tack running West of South, but it was almost half an hour before the depth increased by half a fathom. Finally we passed successively from 5 to 6, 7, 8 and 16 fathoms; but it was not long before it began to decrease again, so I decided to tack and try, if possible, to hold myself between 15 and 20, for at eight I was in 18. The crew were forbidden to go to bed before ten o'clock, at which stage I would think myself free from anxiety for the night, provided the depth continued to increase. At nine o'clock we found 18 fathoms, so those who were not on duty were allowed to retire; not for long, however, because at half past nine we dropped abruptly to 11 and they were summoned immediately so that we could go about with greater facility. For the rest of the night everyone was on duty. We made various tacks, taking as the turning point the depth that was less than the greatest we found on any one tack. In this way we remained between 15 and 20 fathoms. We were fortunate in having fine weather; otherwise we might have found ourselves very awkwardly placed. I gave this gulf the name of Golfe de la Mauvaise because of the fatigue that it caused the whole crew. The winds were very variable throughout the night. We expected the South-South-westerly leg (which we went on several times) to take us out to the open sea, but it did not. It only brought us to within sight of the land to leeward of us, and the depth decreased as rapidly as on the easterly leg.
