The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1863-12-03

: NV RoC6s.-In the track of vessels bound from
s this port TO San Francisco. lie, what are called on
z some charts, Reeds Rocks" on others. " Fall
mouth Shoals having been discovered by the U. s.
) sloop of war Falmouth, Capt. Reed, in 1850. These
! rocks lie, according to the statement of the discoverer,
: in n. Lat. 81 "a, and West Long. 1872 81, and
Z about FIVE days sail from San Francisco. But
: though lying thus directly in the track Of vessels
I bound to that port. ii is somewhat remarkable that
! they have never been seen by others. In 1853, Capt.
: Baker. of the bark Thatcher, sieered directly for
& the locality named. and run very close to the spot, if
: not exactly over it. without finding any sign of land
3 or shOal water. Last August. the bark Yankee Con
3 three miles Of the spot. without observing any indi-
] cations Of shoals. In October. Capt. Redfeld (whom
: our readers well know as formerly master of the
! OiiriG) reports having observed the rocks about
! midday, but gives their locality eleren miles farther
! north. and three miles farther west. Now if, as he
! states. there are only ten feet of water on them. they
I are very dangerous, and ought to be surveyed by
] some government vessel at once and the exact posi-
I ton laid down, to prevent shipwrecks. In the BuHe-
! tin We find Capt. Redfeld's report referring to these
] rocks, which is important 10 Captains
4 DASGEEoUs Rocks DISCOVERED OFF TIE CALIroRx1A CoAsr.
J From Captain RedfeId, Of the whaleship Susan AbigaE, We
) learn o. the discovery made by him Of some very dangerous
1 rocks awash, lying about eight hundred miles nearly due west
I from this port, right in the track Of vessels bound in from
3 the Sandwich Islands. etc. Captain Redfeld sailed from this
] port on the 18th Nay, and on the 9th of June, at time of after
! noon observation, saw the rocks, the wind being light and the
I sea very smooth at the time. Their position. as taken by him.
was in latitude 81 deg. So min. N. long de 49, deg. 20 min.
W. He had just taken his afternoon obs. rvation and had had
! an excellent noon sight. On seeing the rocks he repeated his
I observation ami found the result OF the two agree. As his
thermometer proved correct in all of his land.fals afterward. he
feels certain that the position of the rocks as above stated, is
perfectly correct. The rocks were passed by Captain Reifed
within the length of his vessel. The largest one he judges to
be about hty feet broad and one hundred and fifty feet long
= :. Il. OF which, by compass, about a quarter Of a mile, he
saw a discoioralon of the water, it having the appearance or
there being another and a smaller rock. On passing the larger
rock. all of his boats being on deck repairing at the time, Cap
tain Redfeld did not stop to sound but from the color Of the
rock ana long rboon keip growing on 1t up to the waters edge,
he judged it to have probably ten feet water, and in = heavy
sea to break badly. Reeds Rocks. as laid down on the charts,
have never been + und by vessels arriving at this port, many of
whom have reported sailing over the location. The rocks seen
by Captain Redheld are in the same longitude, but eight miles
further south. lie believes that they are most dangerous to
shipping, both on account of their not being seen until close on
them, and from the general disbelief of sea captains in the eXis-
tence Of Reeds Rocks.
While speaking of shoals. We may suggest an ex-
petition to determine whether the shoal laid down on
the Admiralty charts in North Lat. Pc 40 W. Long.
l400 Az really exists. or is only a myth. 1t lies in
the track of vessels bound from San Francisco to
this port, and it may have been on this or some
other unknown shoal that the U. S. Sloop of war
LeraRt was lost three years ago.
by the 10Th inst, with a mail, and San Francisco
dates TO about the 2lst.
occurred at Hilo, about 4 o'clock on the morning of
the 26th-the heaviest that has been experienced
there for many years.