(1623) VOYAGE OF THE SHIP LEYDEN COMMANDED BY SKIPPER KLAAS
HERMANSZ(OON) FROM THE NETHERLANDS TO JAVA.--FURTHER DISCOVERY OF THE
WEST-COAST OF AUSTRALIA.
_Journal kept on board the ship Leyden from the Texel to Batavia, 1623._
Laus Deo. This 9th day of July, A.D. 1623 in the ship _Leyden_...
On the 15th do. Latitude 27° 15'; during the last twenty-four hours we
sailed 16 miles East by North and East-north-east...At noon we saw a
large dead fish floating near our ship, with a great many birds perched
on its carcase.
On the 16th do. Latitude 26° 27'; sailed 16 miles in 24 hours North by
east...
On the 17th do. Latitude 27° 23'; from last night sailed 16 miles
East-south-east...
On the 18th do. Latitude 27° 25'; sailed 24 miles East-south-east, East
by South and East-north-east, on the whole keeping an eastward course...
On the 19th do. Latitude 27' 20'. sailed due east 20 Miles in 24 hours...
On the 20th do. Latitude 27° 20' sailed 20 miles these 24 hours
North-east, East-north-east and East, with a light breeze, fair weather,
and a West-south-west wind; course held east.
On the 21st do. in the morning we sighted Eendrachtsland in Latitude 27°
at about 6 miles' distance South-west by west; we sounded off it in 61
fathom fine gravel bottom, the land showing outwardly like Robben Island
in the Taffel Bay; at noon in Latitude 26° 43' we shaped our course to
northward, and afterwards drifted in a calm.
On the 22nd do. Latitude 26` 36, sailed and drifted about 4 miles, at
about 8 miles' distance North~north-west from the land. We sighted
everywhere a hilly coast with large bays, with low-lying land in between,
the whole covered with dunes; we drifted in a calm, our course being
North-west by West.
On the 23rd do. Latitude 26° 3'; during the last twenty-four hours we
mostly drifted in a calm at about 3 or 4 miles' distance from the coast;
here we sighted a large inlet, looking like a river or bay. We sounded in
80 fathom, good sandy bottom; in the afternoon there was a light breeze
from the South-south-west, our course being North-west by West. In the
evening we saw the farthest extremity of the land north by east at six
miles' distance from us.
On the 26th do. Latitude 25° 48', we did our best to keep off the land,
which extended North-north-west and East-south-east. The land looked like
the west-coast of England with many reddish rocks; out at sea there were
plenty of cliffs and sunken rocks; at noon the wind went round to
South-west afterwards to the south; we held our course North-west by
North. In the evening the endmost land lay North by east of us at about 7
miles' distance.
On the 27th do. WILLEMTGEN JANSZ., wedded wife Of WILLEM JANSZ. of
Amsterdam, midshipman, was delivered of a son, who got the name of
SEEBAER VAN NIEMELANT. At noon Latitude 24° 15', sailed northward both in
a calm and with variable winds, generally on a North-by-west course...[*]
miles, our course being north, and the wind south with a fine breeze.
[* Left blank.]
On the 29th do. Latitude 20° 56'.
On the 30th do. Latitude 18° 56'; the wind being east, we could not get
higher than north. We saw a good deal of rock-weed floating about, and
plenty of fish near the ship...
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