It was, however, too late for us to put into this anchorage before night. As the weather was fair, it was reſolved to caſt anchor in Tempeſt-bay, in a bottom of grey ſand, at the depth of ten fathoms. We had been ſixty-four days on our paſſage from the Cape to this place. Moſt of the navigators who have made it before us, have performed it in fifty or at moſt fifty-five days. It is to be obſerved, that they have generally ſteered ſouthward as ſoon as poſſible, in order to get into the track of the weſterly winds. This route is ſomewhat longer than that which we took, but at ſea it is not always by taking the ſhorteſt road that one arrives the ſooneſt at one's place of deſtination. Navigators ought to be well acquainted with the ordinary courſes of the winds, that they may be able to get into thoſe which are the moſt favourable. The night continued very fine, though the air was charged with a great deal of moiſture. We were ſheltered from the N.W. and W.N.W. winds, though we now and then experienced a few ſlight blaſts.
We caught a great quantity of fiſhes with our lines. They were of a great variety of different kinds: the moſt numerous were thoſe of the ſpecies gadus.
The variation of the magnetic needle, obſerved when we paſſed under the meridian of Iſle de
France,
