The August entries begin with increased sightings of tropical birds, dolphins and flying fish as the ship approached Tahiti. Bayly notes that the crew caught a shark five foot long and later, a large albatross. On 11 August he records that they had discovered land, which he initially describes as ‘3 small sandy islands with a few trees on the most elevated parts’; the following day he states that it proved to be a long low sandy island [RGO 14/56: 80v-81r]. On 14 August they sighted three more small islands, on one of which a large fire was visible. The ship then passed Oznaburg Island [Mehetia] arriving at Otaheite [Tahiti] on 16 August, where Bayly records the arrival of canoes from which they obtained supplies of coconuts and fresh fruit. On 17 August he describes an incident in which the Resolution struck a reef, breaking her false keel [RGO 14/56: 82r]. The ship anchored at Vaitepiha Bay on the following day. Entries resume on 24 August, when the ship left for Matavai Bay where Bayly took observations on shore at Point Venus, and also noted the rate of the watch which was running too slow.