On coming to an anchor, they observed a buoy a little to the southward, with a slip buoy to it, they swept for the anchor, weighed it, and found it belonged to the Charlotte (Gilbert, master) one of the ships from Port Jackson bound to China; there were two-thirds of a cable to it.

The party on shore also found some spars, apparently erected for a tent, and three water casks, one of which was full: it is most likely the Charlotte was blown out of the road, and could not regain her station again.

Observing that their anchor was foul, on the 25th they hove it up to clear, and let it go again; presently afterwards, finding the ship adrift, they sounded, and had twenty-five fathoms, but as she was at the edge of the bank, they hove the anchor up, and made a stretch to the southward, but did not again fetch the bay till the evening of the 26th.

The two following days they had dark heavy weather with very hard squalls, and almost continual rain, the wind from north-east to south-east.

At day light in the morning of the 29th, the wind veered round to the south south-west, and soon afterwards, a very severe squall, attended with heavy rain, set the ship adrift, and the tide making strong to the north-west with a large hollow sea, they veered the reef very fast; however, the squall something abating, and fortunately backing round to the south south-east, they got their anchor up (which they otherwise would not have been able to have effected) and bore away to the north north-west.