for Yarmouth Roads; and
they first land they make is Wintertonness (as above). Now, the
danger of the place is this: if the ships coming from the north
are taken with a hard gale of wind from the SE., or from any point
between NE. and SE., so that they cannot, as the seamen call it,
weather Wintertonness, they are thereby kept within that deep bay;
and if the wind blows hard, are often in danger of running on shore
upon the rocks about Cromer, on the north coast of Norfolk, or
stranding upon the flat shore between Cromer and Wells; all the
relief they have, is good ground tackle to ride it out, which is
very hard to do there, the sea coming very high upon them; or if
they cannot ride it out then, to run into the bottom of the great
bay I mentioned, to Lynn or Boston, which is a very difficult and
desperate push: so that sometimes in this distress whole fleets
have been lost here altogether.
The like is the danger to ships going northward, if after passing
by Winterton they are taken short with a north-east wind, and
cannot put back into the Roads, which very often happens, then they
are driven upon the same coast, and embayed just as the latter.
The danger on the north part of this bay is not the same, because
if ships going or coming should be taken short on this side
Flamborough, there is the river Humber open to them, and several
good roads to have recourse to, as Burlington Bay, Grimsby Road,
and the Spurn Head, and others, where they ride under shelter.
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