A NEW ROUTE TO CHINA

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1782, 22 April 1874, Page 4

A NEW ROUTE TO CHINA

The arrival of tho Gloucester, from Hong Kong, is suggestive of a brief account of her voyage by the new route from that port along the equator to the north of New Guinea, and Capt. Vincent has been courteous enough to supply Borne particulars which must prove interesting. He says he had often heard the practicability of the passage discussed by masters of vessels, but had never met any who had attempted it, and there being some likelihood of his having to make other voyages from Hong Kong to Melbourne anfl Sydney, he determined to try it himself. From his report we take the following:— " He left Hong Kong on 24th January, and shaped a course for the Mindora Passage, but through a strong S.W. current, and the wind hanging far to the eastward, only fetched the .Northumberland Passage. Here the barque had calms and light airs for two days, but having got through she had a fine breeze from E.N.E., which continued till about halfway throogh the Strait of Basralan, on the. night of the 2nd of February. Light variable airs succeeded, with which, and a current setting to the eastward, she got through by daylight the next morning. For four or five days calms and light variable airs prevailed, which were supposed to be the ( variables,' between the .N.E. and N.W. monsoons, and tbh opinion was confirmed by a reference to Findlay's chart of ' Wind Systems in the N.W. and N.E. Monsoons ;' consequently steered south, daily expecting a westerly wind. The first breeze, however, was from the eastward, fresh and steady, with a cloar sky, and a current setting to the westward at the rate of twenty and thirty miles a day. Lat; 4deg. 18min. N., long. 123deg. 40min. E. Braced sharp up on the port tack, aad fetched the S.W. end of Languor Island on the 10th February, and entered the Pacific between Passage and Palo Islands to the north, and four or five small islands to the south, on the . 12th of February. These islands are thickly populated, and well cultivated. He passed close to Palo, which appeared : a perfect Paradise. It was cultivated in every part, and around its shores were many small harbors and bays and little islands. Fishermen were paddling about in their canoes, one of which came alongside, and the men, four in number, supplied fish in exchange for tobacco. These men. were slothed in a thin cotton trousers and jacket, similar to that worn by the Chinese, only a much neater fit. From these islands the barque steered east, wind. atN.N.E., moderate, and fine, and the next day at noon land was seen to lea- . ward, and shortly af t9r, the Island of Morty right ahead. On the 25th February he came in sight of the Cyclops and Boug- ' ' anville Mountain, at a distance of about •' seventy miles. On the 25th February passed near the Schauten Islands, ana Vulcan and Ms Islands on the Ist March. Most of these islands are high and conical ; Vulcan especially is an immense cone. • The sea here had a dirty greenish color, as though it had a great deal of fresh ■' water mixed with it ; and from the number of trees and large floating masses of: ■ greeu stuff, slips from the banks of some river to all appearances, there must be a large river somewhere near. Passed north of Dampier's Island on the 2nd March, and discovered two small islands near. "•'the shore not marked on the chart. Dampier Island is large and ..mountainous ; its highest part is to the S.E. ;' expands very much at the base, spreading out into low land at the water's edge. Safe anchorage, with a convenient depth of water, it is thought, could be got all round the island. Passed Dampier Island,, and steered south j and passed out in the night between the New Guinea shore and ; Long Island, and the other islands to the north. Passed Cape King William at daylight in the morning. ThVcoast about ,; here, is very interesting ; the land is very high, but the baseß of the mountains slope a good deal, in some places terminating in very low low land. Nearly the whole of this sloping land is terraced, like the paddy fields in some parts of China, and cleared from ' the perpendicular sides of the mountains to the sea ; but the higher parts of the mountains are covered with forest. Braced up on the port tack, and on the evening of 6th March saw some of the ■mail Luscancay Islands to the southward. The next morning fifteen were,

counted from the topsail yard, low and small, with reefs about some of them. On Bth March sailed along the N.E. coast of Woodlark Island, and passed over a shoal about 3 00 yards wide, and extending to the westward as far as could be seen from the masthead, but to the eastward it could only be traced a little beyond the ship. Got no soundings, there being a strong breeze from the N. W. at the time, and the barque was over before the lead could be dropped. Saw the bottom distinctly, however. As this shoal is not marked on the chart, and as there is no mention of it in ' Findlay's South Pacific Directory,' it has, presumably, never been seen before, consequently it was named 'Gloucester Shoal.' On the following day it blew a gale from the W.N.W., and had every appearance of a hurricane. At 3 p.m. hove to, the sea running very high from S. to S.W. At 6 p.m. the gale had moderated considerably, and at 8 p.m. squared away and ran S. E. The gale increased as the barque ran before it, and noon on 10th March it had all the force of a hurricane. Made everything snug, and hove to under mizen staysail and a very small maintopmast staysail.. For eight hours it blew a furious gale, veering gradually to the westward. After midnight the gale moderated, and the barometer began to rise, and by morning the wind had shifted to W.S.W., and becoming moderate, but the sea ran high and cross, principally from the S. and W. By observations on 11th March, found that the current during these two stormy days had set the barque sixty miles to the E.N.E., and for several days after found the current very irregular, sometimes to the eastward and sometimes to the westward. After passing Sandy Cape the wind was from N. to S.E., with fine weather, and a favorable current of sixty miles a day sometimes. Passed Cape Howe on the 28th March, aud arrived at Melbourne on the 30th, after a passage of sixty-four days from Hong Kong."