Mr. Inman had re-delivered to me the two time-keepers, with a table of their rates deduced from equal altitudes, but the No. 543 had gone so very irregularly, as not to be entitled to any confidence; the error of No. 520 from mean Greenwich time at noon there on the 2nd, and its rate of going during the twenty-five preceding days were as under: 

Earnshaw’s No. 520, fast, 0h 49’ 54.85” and losing 33.38” per day.

[EAST COAST. STEERING NORTHWARD.]

(Atlas, Plate I.)

The winds were light, and mostly from the eastward during the first two days of our quitting Port Jackson; and not being able to get far enough from the land to avoid the southern current, it had retarded us 35’ on the 12th at noon [FRIDAY 12 AUGUST 1803], when the islands of Port Stephens were in sight.  On the following day the wind became more steady in the south-western quarter, and as our distance from the land increased, the current abated; and on the 15th, when the latitude was 27 deg. 27’, longitude 156 deg. 22’, and distance from the coast about fifty leagues, the set was something in our favour.  The wind was then at south, and our course steered was north for twenty-four hours, then N. by W.; and on the 17th at noon [WEDNESDAY 17 AUGUST 1803] we were in latitude 23 deg. 22’, longitude 155 deg. 34’, and had the wind at S. E. by S. (Atlas, Plate X.)

Soon after two o’clock, the Cato being some distance on our larbord quarter made the signal for seeing land.  This proved to be a dry sand bank, which bore S. S. W. about three leagues; and the Porpoise sailing faster than the other ships, they were directed to keep on their course whilst we hauled up to take a nearer view of the bank.  At three o’clock, when it bore S. by E. five or six miles, we hove to and sounded but had no bottom at 80 fathoms.  The Cato’s Bank, for so it was named, is small and seemed to be destitute of vegetation; there was an innumerable quantity of birds hovering about, and it was surrounded with breakers; but their extent seemed very little to exceed that of the bank, nor could any other reef near it be discovered.  The situation was ascertained to be nearly 23 deg. 6’ south, and 155 deg. 23’ east; and we then made sail after the Bridgewater and Cato, to take our station ahead of them as before.

Some apprehensions were excited for the following night by meeting with this bank but as it was more than two degrees to the eastward of the great Barrier Reefs, we thought it unconnected with any other, like the two discovered by captain Ball and Mr. Bampton, further towards the north end of New Caledonia.  I had, besides, steered for Torres’ Strait in the Investigator, from reefs several degrees to the westward, without meeting with any other danger than what lay near the Barrier or belonged to the Strait; and by the time we had rejoined the ships in the evening, the distance run from the bank was thirty-five miles, and no other danger had been descried.  It did