5th January 1769

Nearing Tierra del Fuego

Fore part, fresh Gales and Clear; Middle, light Airs; remainder, fresh Gales and a little hazey. P.M. found the Variation to be 20 degrees 4 minutes East; Soundings 75 and 73 fathoms. A great Number of Water Fowl about the Ship. Wind South-West, North-East, North-North-East; course South 28 degrees West; distance 92 miles; latitude 49 degrees 49 minutes South, longitude 61 degrees 67 minutes West.

Joseph Banks Journal

Fair wind: the sea very light at night more so than ever I had seen it, so that the ships course and every curl of a wave was of a light colour, but none of the light patches seen last night were now observd, which were cheifly remarkable as the animals there must have shone without being agitated. In some of the water taken up observd a small insect of a conical figure, very nimble, who movd himself with a kind of whorl of legs or tentacula round the base of the cone; we could not find any nereides or indeed any other insect than this in the water but were not able to prove that he causes the light so deferrd our observations on him till the morning.