There was no wind stirring to help me, and all I could do with my paddles signified nothing: and now I began to give myself over for lost; for as the current was on both sides of the island, I knew in a few leagues distance they must join again, and then I was irrecoverably gone; nor did I see any possibility of avoiding it; so that I had no prospect before me but of perishing, not by the sea, for that was calm enough, but of starving from hunger.
Deze sleepte mijne boot met zoo veel geweld mede, dat ik, wat ik ook deed, haar niet aan den rand der strooming kon houden, maar zij mij, naar ik bemerkte, al verder en verder van de tegenstrooming, die aan mijne linkerhand was, afsleepte. Er was geen wind genoeg om mij te helpen, en wat ik met mijne riemen doen kon beteekende niets.