At Evening We Came To Anchor Within The Bank By A Very Narrow
Channel, A League Beyond That We Had Been Last In, And Three Leagues
From Swakem, But The Channel Within The Entrance Was Large, With Clean
Ground, And Perfectly Secure In All Winds.
The 13th we went out of this channel an hour before day, and about a
cannon-shot to seaward we saw a long range of shoals with broken water,
seeming to stretch in the same direction with the coast.
At eleven
o'clock the wind turned to the N.N.W. and as our course was N.W. we were
unable to make way, and had to fasten our vessels to the rocks on these
shoals, where we lay about three hours. About two o'clock afternoon the
wind freshened at N.N.E. and we made sail N.W. But coming to the bank
landward, we took in our sails and rowed into a channel within the bank,
where we came to anchor. This channel is very narrow and winding, being
about seven leagues beyond Swakem, whence the coast to this place runs
N. and S. and then N. by W. and S. by E. I went ashore on the 15th to
observe the order and flowing of the tide, and found it was full sea
when the moon was two hours past the meridian, and was dead ebb two
hours after the moon set. I found likewise that the ebb and flow of the
tide at this place was 22 cubits[293]. The 16th we left this channel,
with the wind at north, and cast anchor half a league out at sea. The
17th we entered a very good harbour named Dradate or Tradate, the
coast from Swakem here winding N. by W. and S. by E. distance 10
leagues. The land behind the shore is all very low in that space, but
three leagues back from the coast it rises into great and high
mountains. This harbour of Tradate, in lat. 19 deg. 50' N. 10 leagues
beyond Swakem, is one of the best in the world. The entrance is about a
falcon-shot across, and grows narrower inwards, but has 20 fathoms water
in its whole length with a mud bottom; and a quarter of a league within
the land there is a famous watering-place at certain wells, where is the
best water and in greatest plenty of any place on all these coasts. The
19th we sailed at day-light, and advanced 3-1/2 leagues that day, having
many shoals to seaward of us, and the coast for these 3-1/2 leagues
trended N. and S. On the 20th at sunrise the wind blew from the N. and
the sea was rough, for which reason we had to seek shelter within the
shoal, entering by a very narrow and difficult channel. After we were
in, the wind came N.N.E. and we remained all day at anchor. The 21st we
left the shoal with fine weather, the wind being at W.N.W. and sailed N.
keeping about half a league from the land; and an hour after sunrise we
came to a long and fair point of land called by Ptolomy the promontory
of Diogenes.
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