As The Summer Of These Antarctic Regions Was Now Approaching, They Were In Hopes Of Fair Weather; Yet During Two Months That They Remained In The Straits, They Scarcely Had A Fair Day In Which To Dry Their Sails.

For twenty days that they remained in this bay, to which they gave the name of the Bay of Trouble, they endured incredible hardships, being forced to go on shore daily in search of a few birds, which, with muscles and snails found upon the rocks, formed their sorry subsistence.

Being unable to subsist any longer in that bay, they set sail on the 18th October, and found a better bay about a league farther within the straits. The 22d they were nearly destroyed by a violent storm, but the weather became calm next day. The constant employment of the seamen was to go on shore in search of muscles for their sustenance at low water, and when the tide was in to fetch wood and fresh water, so that they had no time to dry themselves, though they kept up a good fire continually. In short, during the whole nine months spent in these straits, now and formerly, they scarcely had an opportunity once to dry their sails, so frequent were the returns of rain and storms. The men also were exposed to wet, cold, and high winds, which kept them continually uncomfortable, and always at work. The seamen now began to murmur, alleging there would not be enough of biscuit for their return to Holland, if they remained here any longer. Having notice of this, de Weert went into the bread-room, as if to examine their store; and, on coming out, he declared, with a cheerful countenance, there was enough of biscuit and other provisions for eight months, though in fact there was not more than sufficient for four.

At length, on the 2d December, the wind changed to the N.E. and they immediately weighed anchor, but could not get out into the South Sea, owing to whirlwinds rising from between the high hills and the bottom of the bay. The Faith was driven at one time so near the shore that a person might have stepped ashore from her gallery, and had certainly been lost if the wind had not abated. Next day, the storm being over, the two ships got out of Close bay, as they called it, with the ebb, but they never afterwards anchored together, and that day they cast anchor at the distance of a league from each other. The 8th of December they had a more violent storm than ever, which lasted two days, and during which the waves rose sometimes higher than the masts. The storm abating on the 10th, de Weert went in his boat, intending to go aboard the Fidelity; but on doubling the point which lay between them, was overwhelmed with grief to see no ship, nor any signs of shipwreck, so that he thought she had foundered.

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