A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 06 eBook

Robert Kerr (writer)
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 750 pages of information about A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 06.

A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 06 eBook

Robert Kerr (writer)
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 750 pages of information about A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 06.

On the 31st day of January we came to a shoal with six fathoms water, and to seawards of which, over against certain islands called the Seven Sisters, there is a very dangerous rock as I was told by the Moorish pilots; so that the safe navigations in this part is to go between the shoal and the land, and in no case to pass to seawards of the shoal.  At night we came to anchor in a haven named Sarbo, or Sorbo, in 9-1/2 fathoms water; having all this day seen many little islands close to the coast.  On the 1st of February I landed at the port in this island of Sarbo taking the pilot and master along with me, that we might all three take the altitude of the sun.  At its greatest height it was scarce 71 deg. above the horizon, and the declination of that day being 13 deg. 56’, the latitude was 15 deg. 7’ N. About 24 leagues short of Massua, and 4 leagues from the Abyssinian coast, in lat. 15 deg.  N. there is a great cluster or archipelago of islands, some of which hardly rise above the surface of the sea, while others are so lofty that they seem to touch the clouds; and between these there are so many bays, ports, and harbours, that no wind can annoy us.  All of these islands want water, except one very high island, called Whale Island by the Portuguese, because it very much resembles one, in which there is water and plenty of cattle, with a large haven in which ships may winter.  Of all these islands, that which is most out to sea is called in Arabic Sarbo, where we now lay at anchor.  The island of Sarbo is about a league in length and half a league broad, all low land with many low barren trees, and covered with grass.  In every place we found the marks of men and cattle, but we only saw one camel, for which reason our men called it the Island of the Camel.  Though we sought the whole island with much diligence we could find no water, except in one well dug in a stone which seemed intended to contain rain water.  Between these islands there are numerous arms of the sea, reaches, and channels.  At sunrise on the 4th of February, we set sail from the port of Sarbo.  February 7th we sailed along many islands about three or four leagues distant from the main land, most of them very low, almost even with the sea.  We passed to seaward of them all about a league, and about even-song time, we saw to seawards of us a very long range of islands about 5 leagues in extent and about four leagues from us, which lay N.W. and S.W. as far as I could discern.  The coast all this day trended N.W. and by W. and S.E. and by E. so that the channel in which we sailed this day was about 5 leagues broad.  The greatest part of this day I caused the lead to be constantly thrown, always having 25 fathoms on an ouze bottom.

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A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 06 from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.