On the 19th, a boat was put off in the direction of the island; the steersman reported its being well wooded, but that no good landing place had been met with, the coast being surrounded by rocky reefs. Two seals were seen there, also one wild cat, and the excrements of other animals. On the 20th, a boat was sent on shore well manned; the following day several signal-guns were fired, and in the evening the boat returned to the ship, bringing with it a piece of the mast of the _Draeck_, and again returning to land after taking in a supply of provisions, brought back a part of the round-top, a block, and other trifling objects.
On the 22nd, they again sent to shore. At night it blew hard, the waves running very high. A gun was fired, and a light hung out as a guide to the boat on its return. They ran great risk of driving upon the rocks. At midnight, the cable parting, another anchor was dropped.
On the 23rd, the weather being still boisterous, and they themselves in great distress and nothing seen of the boat, fears were entertained that it might have capsized or been dashed against the rocks. They were afterwards compelled to cut their cable and run out to sea.
On the 27th, they sighted the island again, and ran so near the coast that they might have been seen by a man on the beach. Several guns were fired toward the place where the boat had last gone to land, but neither sign nor sound being observed, it was taken for certain that they had been lost, and resolved that they should sail along the coast toward Batavia. The fire was again seen at dusk close to the sea-line, which they supposed to have been lighted by the crew of the _Draeck_ or the _Waeckende Boey_, as no such fire had been seen before. A gun was fired, whereupon another fire close to the first became visible. But having neither boat nor schuyt, it was impossible to land and equally so to come to anchor; the bottom being coral-rock.
On the 29th, they found themselves at some distance to the north of the point where the fire was seen. The coast became more level as they proceeded, and they sailed along the shore till sunset, when they again run further out to sea; in the course of the second watch they passed the Tortelduyf cliff, the surf breaking on it being plainly visible.