The coasting pilot: Describing the sea-coasts, channels, soundings, sands, shoals, rocks, & dangers: the bayes, roads, harbours, rivers, ports, buoyes, beacons, and sea-marks, upon the coasts of England Flanders and Holland with directions to bring a shipp into any harbour on the said coasts. Being furnished with the new draughts, charts, and descriptions, gathered from ye experience and practise of diverse able and expert navigators of our English nation. / Collected and published by John Seller. Hydrographer in ordinary to the King.

To sayl into the Mase.

The Mase is at present a wide or broad Flat, ha∣ving little change of depth, which may be sayled with all winds. When the Wind is South, regard the old Marks; that is (coming from Sea) before you see the Capes, bring the Steeple of the Brill, which is a stumpy Steeple E. S. E. from you, or a little East or southerly; after you have gotten the Cape, bring them together and run on; or if you bring the Brill Steeple a hand-spikes length northwards of the Tower of Oostveern, and run on, you shall then first run the buoy in sight lying in three fathom at low-water.

From this first buoy, we sayl to the second and third buoys right upon the Capes. The second buoy lies on 13, and the third upon 11 foot; being there, the Stee∣ple of Goeree comes a little upon the foot-strand of the Land of the Brill: The fourth buoy lyeth much alike with the third, right upon the Capes, though a little more southerly; between these buoys, the shallowest of the Mase is about 10 foot; by the fourth buoy it begins to deepen, with a common low-water it is about 11 foot deep, but with a southerly or S. E. Wind it runs shallower; from thence to the fourth buoy it is broad, so that there we may sayl in a reasonable depth. Be∣low the Heydick, or innermost Beacon, it is much nar∣rower. The fifth buoy lyeth distant from the fourth E. N. E. and N. E. by East, from the fourth buoy to the fifth; southward along the buoys, in the right Chan∣nel, it is 14, 15, 16, and 17 foot deep, and near the fifth buoy five fathom. The sixth buoy lyeth from the fifth East by North in 12 foot; there along the south∣ward it is 5 and 6 fathom deep, and is called the Pit, coming then a little beyond the sixth buoy, so cometh Maeslant-Sluce and Ulaerding-steeple together; keep them so, and run forwards till you bring the Old-Head of the Brill in the New-head, then you may run to the Land of the Brill, and so alongst the south∣wards till you come before the Brill, where you may anchor; now those that will run higher up the Mase, let them run all alongst South-Wall, till they be past the New Sluce, let them chuse then the North Wall: from the East end of R••••senburgh there comes a Tayl off, which you may under-sayl coming westwards; if then (when you are past the heads of the Swartwall) you bring North the Brill-Steeple without or north∣wards these Heads, but keep to the southwards, you cannot under-sayl it, but must run far about south∣wards. Full eastwards of Heenvliet runs the old Mase in; the Flood falls there very hard, you must take heed that you be not deceived with the Terwasand, that

is a great flat Sand, lying formost in the midst of the Old Mase, & that lies a great way dry at low-water, and stretcheth with a long small Point westwards into the Mase. To shun this, take notice of a bush of Trees standing on the South-wall, a little eastward of the Old Mase, keep the Steeple of Roterdam northwards of that Bush, so shall you not sayl over that Tarwe-sand; but if you let the Steeple come southward of the Bush, you shall surely strike upon the foresaid Tayl. Northward of the Tarwe-sand it is deep, upon which you may sayl in the Old Mase even to Dort; therein lie also 2 buoys, he that will run upon the aforesaid Marks of Roterdam Steeple and the bush of Trees, so long till the Steeple of the Brill comes together, with a tiled House which stands upon the South side of the East end of Roosen∣burgh, and keep that so standing, so shall he not miss of the buoy; being past the Old Mase, you may sayl in the midst of the water beyond Vlaerding, till you come to the five Sluces; from thence you must chuse the South Wall, and run along near unto it, till you come over a small Sand or Bank, where with low∣water, there is 11, or 11 foot and a half water; the nearer you keep to the South Wall, so much the deep∣er it is stretching cross the Mase; as soon as you are past that, keep strait to the Schtedams-head, there you have the deepest water.

Notes

• Marks.
• Old-Mase