complished in less than 40 days. By this route, 43 days seems about the medium passage; and during any month of the year it may be made in this time, from the situation mentioned. The Arniston made it in 36 days in May, &c. but she did not go more south than 25° S. latitude, and the Ceres made it in 21 days from the equator, not going beyond lat. 22° 15′ S. When the sun has great north declination, the eastern route seems precarious; the other seems most certain at all times. A ship that sails indifferently close hauled or in light winds, should not attempt the eastern route in this season; but one that slides fast through the water in faint breezes, and holds a good wind, may probably proceed by the eastern route in any season with safety. The Britannia's passage of 95 days in the favourable season, from the southern limit of the N. E. trade to St. Helena, by the eastern route, is a singular case. It has been the practice with ships going the western route, to run far south, sometimes to lat. 32 and 33° S.; this can seldom be requisite, as it lengthens the passage; the ships which have not proceeded so far south, have generally made the best passages to St. Helena.*

From St. Helena to England, the passage with a fleet is generally about two months, or seven weeks in a single ship that sails well.

From this island to the Cape of Good Hope, the passage is about a month: The Georgina was 26 days in making it in November, 1798; in February, 1799, she was 28 days; and in April and May, 32 days completing the same passage.

From Cape Good Hope to St. Helena, the passage may be estimated at 13 days; it is frequently performed in 10, and has been accomplished in 8 or 9 days.

The Georgina departed from St. Helena Sept. 18th, 1806, and carried the trade and northeasterly winds to lat. 30° S. long. 49° W. On the 13th Oct. she entered the River Plate, and grounded on the banks, nearly in sight of Buenos Ayres on the 19th, but soon got off without damage, the bank being soft mud where she grounded. She got clear of the River Plate on the 21st Oct. and arrived at Table Bay, Cape Good Hope, Nov. 24th, and gave intelligence of the recapture of Buenos Ayres.

GEORGINA, left St. Helena, May 22d, 1805. In lat 27° S. and long. 6° W. the 30th, got the wind at northward and N. E. three days, and then steered E. by S. June 2d, in lat. 26° S. long. 3o E. it veered to W. S. W. and S. W., and continued till in lat. 20° S. long. 9o E. the 6th: it then veered to the southeastward. June 9th, at 7 P. M. heard the surf, and saw break

In these times of scientific improvements, it is not necessary to adhere implicitly to instructions given half a century since; for coppered ships which sail well upon a wind, with good chronometers and other instruments on board, may often accelerate their voyage by deviating from ancient precepts.

ers on the lee beam, hauled off N. E.; shortly after saw the land bearing S. S. E. and sounded in 38 fathoms, sand. At day-light the land from S. E. to E. S. E., off shore 5 leagues, in 52 fathoms. At noon the high land from N. E. by E. to S. S. S. W., a remarkable hill like a Turk's cap, which we suppose to be Mount Negro, E. S. E., off shore 7 or 8 miles, in 45 fathoms, sand, coral, and shells. Lat. observed 15° 30′ S., long. by OD 12° 28′ E. June 10th, steered along shore, mostly N. E. and N. E. by E. with light westerly winds and hazy weather. At sunset the coast from S. W. by S. to N. by E., off shore 6 or 7 miles; shortly after had 19 fathoms mud, steering N. E. by E. At 10 A. M. Tyger's Bay S. S. E. 1 E. and a large bay open S. by E. off shore 7 or 8 miles.

June 11th, light winds from S. W. to W. and cloudy weather; at sunset a bluff point S. E. by S.; a remarkable high round hill S. by E., off shore about 7 miles; at noon, lat. observed 13° 07' S., account 13° 8' S. June 12th, light westerly winds and fine weather, hove to in the night; at 8 A. M. St. Philip's Bonnet E. by S. S. 3 or 4 leagues; at noon lat. observed 12° 33' S., St. Philip's Point S. E. & E. 2 leagues, the extremes of the land from E. N. E. to W. S. W. S., off shore about 4 miles; P. M. steered S. E. by E. into the bay; at 3 the master attendant came on board, and at 4 anchored and moored in Benguela Bay in 10 fathoms, with the best bower to seaward.

The Georgina received 84 bullocks, sailed June 21st, and had light winds from westward near the land; stood to the westward on the 22d, with a fresh breeze at S. W.; it continued at S. W. by S. and S. S. W. till in lat. 13° S. on the 26th, veered then to S. by W. and to S. on the following day. June 28th, in lat. 159 30' S. long. 2° 30′ W. it veered to S. by E.; arrived the 29th at St. Helena.

Georgina, Sept. 15th, 1805, left St. Helena. In lat. 21° S. with southerly and light variable winds the 18th, stood east northeastward; in lat. 12° S. long. 7o E. on the 29th they veered to S. and S. S. W. moderate and light breezes, which continued till she arrived, Oct. 4th at Benguela.

Sailed from hence the 22d, had the wind mostly at W. and W. S. W. (often variable) till in lat. 10° 30' S. long. 7 30° E. the 26th; it now veered to S. W., next day to S. S. W. and S. fresh breezes and squally. From the 26th to the 30th it blew strong from S. by W. to S. by E.; afterwards it continued steady at S. by E., arrived at S. Helena Nov. 1st, having experienced a confused head sea great part of the passage.

Winds and Currents in the Gulf of Guinea: Coasts, and adjacent Islands, and from thence to the Southward.

ALONG the coast of Sierra Leone and the Grain Coast, to Cape Palmas, N. W. and N. N. W. winds mostly prevail. From this cape, across the Gulf of Guinea to Cape Lopez, they are found to prevail in general from S. W. and south vard. The currents are variable on the Grain Coast; in the S w. monsoon, when the sun is far to the north ward, they frequently run to the N. W. but at other times often to the S. E. They set mostly between north and east across the gulf from Cape Palmas to Cape Lopez, particularly from the Coast to lat. 2o N. From lat. 2o N. across the equator, to lat. 1° or 2o S., the current frequently sets strong to the westward; this is mostly experienced about the equator, and a little to the northward of it, when the sun has great north declination.

Although in the Gulf of Guinea, the winds blow generally from southward and S. S. W. towards the coast in S. latitude, they are observed near the land to take a more westerly direction; often prevailing from S. W. and W. S. W. along the African coast between Cape Lopez and Benguela. As the distance is increased from the coast, the winds veer in proportion more southerly; it has been said, that the boundary of the winds which blow from S. to S. W. along the west coast of Africa to lat. 28° S. is an imaginary line drawn from Cape Good Hope to Cape Palmas. It may be observed, that the winds are found in general to draw to the S. by E. or S. S. E. considerably to the eastward of this imaginary line; some ships, however, have been perplexed with the winds from S. and S. by W. between 7° and 15° south lat. until several degrees to the westward of this imaginary line; although this seldom happens.

From Cape Lopez to Sierra Leone a dry parching easterly wind sometimes blows along the coast of Guinea, in December, January, and February, and is called the Harmattan by the Fantees, a nation on the Gold Coast. In these months, the Harmattan may come at any period of the moon, and it continues sometimes only one or two days, sometimes five or six, and it has been known to last fifteen or sixteen days. There are generally three or four returns of it every season, and it blows moderately. On the coast of Sierra Leone, its direction is from E. S. E., and the same farther northward On the Gold Coast from N. E., and at Cape Lopez and the river Gabon from N. N. E, The Harmattan is accompanied by a dark

haze; and it is a cold parching wind, destructive to vegetation, but purifies the atmosphere from infectious exhalations.

The rains set in on the Coast of Guinea in May, and continue till October; as they do also on the west coasts of both peninsulas in India, and others situated to the northward of the equator, which have the ocean open to the west or southwestward. Preceding and subsequent to the rainy season, on the Coast of Guinea, tornadoes may be expected; these are hard squalls from east and east southeastward, accompanied with thunder, lightning, and much rain. In the Gulf of Guinea, faint breezes and calms are also frequent at various seasons of the year.

About Cape Lopez, and from thence along the coast to the southward, the current often sets to the northward; at other times it is variable, with strong ripplings, near the rivers in the rainy season; when the freshes from these rivers, added to a body of water being driven towards the coast by the S. W. wind, is turned backward and forms a westerly current. the dry season, there is frequently no current.

In

The rainy season to the southward of the equator, on the Coast of Loango, Congo, and Angola, is the opposite to that on the Coast of Guinea; the sun in the northern hemisphere bringing the rainy season on the latter coast, at which time it is the dry season of the former; the southern sun producing the rains to the southward of the equator.

In the fair season, on the coasts which embrace the Gulf of Guinea, land and sea breezes prevail; but the winds blow almost constantly from the sea during the rains.

HEADLANDS OR ISLANDS, from Cape Verd around the coast of Guinea, are sometimes seen by East India ships, proceeding by the eastern route to St. Helena, the chief of which appear to be situated by lunar observations and chronometers as follows.

CAPE VERD, in lat. 14° 50′ N. long. 17° 35' W.

CAPE ROXO, is in lat. 12° 12′ N. long. 16o 50' W.; and 18 leagues to the south southeastward, lies the Bissagos Islands encircled by shoals, with other shoals between them and Cape Roxo.

ST. ANN'S SHOALS, front the coast to the S. W. of Sierra Leon at a great distance, and their western extremity in lat. 7° 34' N. long. 13° 28′ W., bears nearly south from the Isles de Loss.

CAPE ST. ANNE, the western extreme of Sherbro Island, is situated in lat. 7° 5' N. long. 12° 20' W., and a group called Turtle Isles project from it to the westward, uniting with the southern extremity of the foregoing shoals.

CAPE MENSURADO, in lat. 6° 25′ N. long. 10° 30′ W. is high;

and from Cape Verd to this part of the coast of Guinea, soundings extend out to a considerable distance from the land.

CAPE PALMAS, in lat. 4o 30' N. long. 7° 41′ W. is rather low, like most parts of the coast of Guinea, and it should not be rounded under 28 fathoms. Variation 17° W. in 1793.

CAPE THREE POINTS, is in lat. 4° 31' N. long. 2° 41′ W.; and Cape St. Paul, the western extremity of the Bight of Benin, in lat. 5° 29′ N. long. 0° 50′ E.

CAPE FORMOSA, in lat. 4° 5' N. long. 5° 5' E. is very low, forming the eastern extremity of the Bight of Benin, and from hence the coast extends about 53 leagues nearly east to the north of Calabar River, all low land, where it turns round to the southward, forming the Bight of Biafra, into which flow several large rivers.

ISLAND FERNANDO Po, situated in the middle of the Bight of Biafra, is about 13 or 14 leagues west of the mouth of the great River Camaroons, the body of it being in lat. 3° 14' N. long. 7° 48′ E., and it is about 20 leagues in circuit, inhabited by negroes, well watered, abounding in sugar-cane and fruits.

PRINCE'S ISLAND, in lat. 1° 30′ N. long. 7° 3′ E., is about 27 leagues to the W. N. W. of Cape St. John, and about the same distance to the S. S. W. of Fernando Po. It is high, with a village and harbour on the east side, where bullocks, hogs, goats, and water may be procured. There are some rocks and islets adjoining, particularly those called the Three Brothers, about 4 or 5 leagues to the S. W., and that called Caroco, about 2 leagues to the southward.

ISLAND ST. THOMAS, about 40 leagues west of Gabon River, is about 26 leagues in circuit, of a round form, its north extremity being in lat. 0° 30' N. long. 6° 37′ E., and the islets off its south extremity lie on the equator. This island belongs to the Portuguese, and it affords some articles of refreshment for ships that touch at the bays on the eastern part, the chief of which is Anna de Chaves; but the shore to the northward of this bay being rocky and steep, it must have a wide birth in passing.

The Chesterfield, working toward the road of St. Thomas, on the 18th of September 1781, with the Blandford and Tartar in company, got no ground at 50 and 60 fathoms, until the rocks were seen along side, had then 16 fathoms and the ship grounded in stays. When aground, the fort bore S. W. by S., a small island off the northwest point of the road N. W., the eastern extreme S. by W., off shore about 4 or 5 miles, and off the small island nearly 3 miles. Hove the ship off the shoal with the stream anchor, and the assistance of a schooner afterward, steered for the road, keeping the fort from W. to W. by S.;