Captain King began now to entertain apprehenſions, leſt, in the proſecution of our ſearch for thoſe iſlands, we ſhould get ſo far to the ſouth as to be under the neceſſity of paſſing to leeward of the Pratas ; in which caſe, it might have proved extremely difficult for ſuch bad ſailing veſſels as our to fetch Macao, eſpecially if the wind ſhould continue to blow (as it now did) from the north-north-eaſt and north. . . . On the approach of day-light, we had ſight of the iſland of Prata ; and, between the hours of ſix and ſeven, we ſtood towards the ſhoal, but finding ourſelves unable to weather it, we bore away, and ran to leeward. . . . The iſland of Prata was now three or four leagues diſtant, bearing north three quarters eaſt. Near the southern extremity of the iſland, and on the ſouth-weſtern ſide of the reef, we imagined that we ſaw, from the maſt-head, ſeveral openings in the reef, which ſeemed to promiſe ſecure anchorage. The extent of the Prata ſhoal is conſiderable ; for it is about ſix leagues from north to ſouth, and extends three or four leagues to the eaſt of the iſland : its limits to the weſtward we had not an opportunity of aſcertaining.
