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The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. VI. Being the Second of the Third Voyage cover

The Three Voyages of Captain Cook Round the World. Vol. VI. Being the Second of the Third Voyage

Chapter 20: Tides.
By James Cook
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About This Book

The narrative continues a Pacific exploration, recording the second part of a third voyage and detailing landfalls across the Society Islands. It mixes navigational log entries and natural observations — including an eclipse — with ethnographic description of island geography, dwellings, canoes, dress, religious rites, and violent customs such as human sacrifice and inter-island war. The account follows relations with local chiefs, notably Omai, describes exchanges of gifts, the introduction of European animals, encounters with Spanish ships, ceremonies at marae, and shipboard incidents and repairs, before the expedition resumes its course toward the north American coast.

Inclination of the dipping Needle.
April 5th. On board with balanced needle   Marked   End North   71° 26ʹ 221⁄2ʺ   71° 40ʹ 221⁄2ʺ
Unmarked and dipping 71 54 221⁄2
                 
The same needle at the observatory   Marked   End North   72 3 45   70 0 0
Unmarked and dipping 71 56 15
                   
18th. Ditto   Marked   End North   71 58 20   72 7 15
Unmarked and dipping 72 16 10
                   
5th. Spare needle at the observatory   Marked   End North   72 32 30   72 49 15
Unmarked and dipping 73 6 0
                   
18th. Ditto   Marked   End North   72 55 0   73 11 45
Unmarked and dipping 73 28 30
                   
22d. Spare needle on board   Marked   End North   73 28 38   73 11 0
Unmarked and dipping 72 53 30
                   
  Hence the mean dip, with both needles, on shore, was 72 32 33⁄4
  On board 72 25 411⁄4

This is as near as can be expected; and shows that whatever it was that affected the compasses, whether on board or ashore, it had no effect upon the dipping needles.

Tides.

It is high-water on the days of the new and full moon at 12h 20m. The perpendicular rise and fall eight feet nine inches; which is to be understood of the day tides, and those which happen two or three days after the new and full moon. The night tides, at this time, rise near two feet higher. This was very conspicuous during the spring-tide of the full moon, which happened soon after our arrival; and it was obvious that it would be the same in those of the new moon, though we did not remain here long enough to see the whole of its effect.

Some circumstances that occurred daily, relating to this, deserve particular notice. In the cove where we got wood and water, was a great deal of drift-wood thrown ashore, a part of which we had to remove to come at the water. It often happened that large pieces of trees, which we had removed in the day out of the reach of the then high-water, were found the next morning floated again in our way, and all our spouts for conveying down the water thrown out of their places, which were immoveable during the day tides. We also found that wood which we had split up for fuel, and had deposited beyond the reach of the day-tide, floated during the night. Some of these circumstances happened every night or morning for three or four days, in the height of the spring tides; during which time we were obliged to attend every morning tide, to remove the large logs out of the way of watering.

I cannot say whether the flood-tide falls into the sound from the N. W., S. W., or S. E. I think it does not come from the last quarter; but this is only conjecture, founded upon the following observations: The S. E. gales which we had in the sound, were so far from increasing the rise of the tide, that they rather diminished it; which would hardly have happened, if the flood and wind had been in the same direction.