May 12th land was sighted; and on the 18th the Half Moon anchored in a harbor, supposed to have been what is now known as Penobscot Bay, on the coast of Maine. After remaining there for a few days, and fitting a new foremast, Hudson steered away to the southward. On August 3d he approached the land and sent on shore five men, who returned with "rose trees and goodly grapes." Still steering to the southward, he made the mouth of King James River, in Virginia. He decided, then, to stand to the northward; and, accordingly, on August 28th, he discovered a bay, now known as the Delaware. Passing the lower cape at noon, he saw shores stretching away to the northwest, and more land to the northeast. This he at first believed to be an island, but it proved to be the mainland of the second point of the bay. The remainder of the day was spent in taking soundings. The waters were found filled with shoals, and the Half Moon, though of light draft, struck several times upon the sands; at sunset she anchored in eight fathoms.
The next morning, at daylight, Hudson got under way and continued his explorations. He stood toward the "norther land" and the Half Moon again "strooke ground" with her rudder. By this time Hudson came to the conclusion that this was not the road to India, so, taking formal possession of all the land he had seen, he stood off shore, rightly surmising, "from the strength of the current that set out and caused the accumulation of sands, that a large river discharged into the bay."
