Our latitude at noon was 39 deg. 38’; the steep island of the small group bore N. 50 deg.  W., and the passage through the larger islands N. 12 deg.  E., six or eight miles.  This observation places the centre of the passage and of the large group, in about 39 deg. 29’ south; and from the lunar observations of the preceding day, brought on by log, (for unfortunately I had no time keeper,) it should lie in longitude 147 deg. 25’ east.  It is, however, to be observed, that a fortuitous compensation of errors can alone render a dead reckoning correct in the way of such tides as we had experienced during the last twenty-four hours.*

[* The longitude of the large group, as given by my time keepers in a future voyage, is 147 deg. 17’.]

By keeping the wind to the southward, we came up with a pyramidal-shaped rock through which there is a chasm:  it bore W. 8 deg.  S. one mile, at four o’clock, when the eastern island of Kents large group was set at N. 17 deg.  E, five or six leagues.  At six, the pyramid bore N. 38 deg.  W. five miles, and high land came in sight to the eastward:  one piece extended from N. 75 deg. to S. 87 deg.  E., apparently about five leagues distant, and the bluff, southern end of another range of hills bore S. 51 deg.  E., something further.  Captain Hamilton supposed these to be parts of the land he had seen to the north-west of Preservation Island, where the wreck of his ship was lying; but whether they might belong to Furneaux’s Islands or to the main, was unknown to him.  He had always gone to, and returned from his island by the east side of this land; and the wind having veered northward, the schooner was kept as much to the north-east as possible, in order to pursue the same track.

We came up with a low point or island at eleven at night, when the wind died away.  At six in the morning of Feb. 9., the northern land extended from N. 49 deg.  E. three leagues, to S. 47 deg.  E. four or five miles; the southern land bore S. 24 deg. to 2 deg.  E. five or six leagues, and seemed to form a hilly, separate island; although, as low land was seen between them, the two may probably be connected:  there was also a cliffy island bearing north, seven or eight miles.  On a breeze springing up from south-west, our course was steered to pass close round the northern land; but finding much rippling water between it and two islands called the Sisters by captain Furneaux, we passed round them also, and then hauled to the southward along the eastern shore.

This northern land, or island as it proved to be, has some ridges of sandy-looking hills extending north and south between the two shores; and they are sufficiently high to be visible ten leagues from a ship’s deck in clear weather.  On the west side of the north point, the hills come nearly down to the water; but on the east side, there is two or three miles of flat land between their feet and the shore.  The small trees and brush wood which partly covered the hills, seemed to shoot out from sand and rock; and if the vallies and low land within be not better than what appeared from the sea, the northern part of this great island is sterile indeed.  The Sisters are not so high as some of the hills on the great island, and are less sandy:  the small, cliffy island, which lies eight or nine miles, nearly west, from the inner Sister, had no appearance of sand.