XXVI. Of the tides in the South Seas

Abstract

In compliance with your request, I send you my observations on the tides in Endeavour River, on the East Coast of New Holland, in latitude 15° 26' S.About 11 o'clock in the evening of the 10th of June 1770, as we were standing off shore, the ship suddenly struck, and stuck fast on a reef of coral rocks, about six leagues from the land. At this time I judged it was about high water, and that the tides were taking off, or decreasing, as it was three days past the full Moon; two circumstances by no means in our favour. As our efforts to heave her off, before the tide fell, proved ineffectual, we began to lighten her, by throwing over-board our guns, ballast, &c. in hopes of floating her the next high-water; but, to our great surprize, the tide did not rise high enough to accomplish this by near two feet. We had now no hopes but from the tide at midnight; and these only founded on a notion, very general indeed among seamen, but not confirmed by any thing which had yet fallen under by observation, that the night-tide rises higher than the day-tide.