6th October 1770

[In Sunda Strait]

At 2 o'Clock P.M., finding we could not stem the Current, we anchor'd, with the Kedge Anchor, under Bantam Point, where we lay until 9, at which time Current made Slowly to the Eastward, and at the same time a light breeze springing up, we weigh'd and stood to the East until 10 o'Clock in the A.M., when the Current oblig'd us again to Anchor in 22 fathoms, Pula Baba bearing East by South 1/2 South, distant 3 or 4 Miles. Our sounding from Bantam Point to this place was from 36 to 22 fathoms.

Joseph Banks Journal

Saild all night; in the morn were almost up with an Island calld Pulo Babi or Pulo Tounda but were so far without it that it was thought best to go the outer passage. The land breeze however left us as usual about O'Clock and we came to an anchor and spent the whole day without any sea breeze sufficient to stem the current, which was very strong and ran constantly to the westward. We have Observd it to be very various since we came into the streights, sometimes running with much greater violence than at others but setting almost if not quite continualy to the Westward: once only it was thought to have turnd to the Eastward for a few hours but that was never made sufficiently clear: this violence would sometimes alter very considerably several times in an hour. At night observd fire upon Pulo Tounda.