Kustprofielen van de Onthong Java-eilanden

After passing the Fiji archipelago, for some time the expedition of Abel Tasman struggled with poor conditions. The objective was to sail further north to reach lower latitudes and reach waters that had previously been described and charted by other explorers. After several weeks of struggling with unfavorable winds and rough seas, in late March 1643 the Zeehaen and Heemskerck reached a group of small islands previously described by Jacob le Maire in 1616. These they named Onthong Java. Today these are part of the Solomon Islands group. Finding these islands marked the end of the expedition’s journey through uncharted waters. The next objective would be to find their way to the island of New Guinea.

Isaac Gilsemans, supercargo on board the Zeehaen, likely drew these coastline profiles of the Ontong Java island group in Abel Tasman’s journal as seen when they were 2 miles to the southwest.