1773 February

Hazy gloomy weather continued, and the wind remained invariably fixed at
N.W., so that we could make our course no better than N.E. by N., and this
course we held till four o'clock in the afternoon of the first of February.
Being then in the latitude of 48° 30', and longitude 58° 7' E., nearly in
the meridian of the island of Mauritius, and where we were to expect to
find the land said to be discovered by the French, of which at this time we
saw not the least signs, we bore away east.

I now made the signal to the Adventure to keep at the distance of four
miles on my starboard beam. At half an hour past six, Captain Furneaux made
the signal to speak with me; and upon his coming under my stern, he
informed me that he had just seen a large float of sea or rock weed, and
about it several birds (divers.) These were certainly signs of the vicinity
of land; but whether it lay to the east or west, was not possible for us to
know. My intention was to have got into this latitude four or five degrees
of longitude to the west of the meridian we were in, and then to have
carried on my researches to the east. But the west and north-west winds we
had had the five preceding days, prevented me from putting this in
execution.

The continual high sea we had lately had from the N.E., N., N.W. and W.,
left me no reason to believe that land of any extent lay to the West. We
therefore continued to steer to the east, only lying-to a few hours in the
night, and in the morning resumed our course again, four miles north and
south from each other; the hazy weather not permitting us to spread
farther. We passed two or three small pieces of rock weed, and saw two or
three birds known by the name of egg-birds; but saw no other signs of land.