New South Greenland
At 2 pm next day, 15 March, as Wasp cruised north-east in the sea that would later bear Weddell's name, Morrell records: "land was seen from the masthead, bearing west, distance 3 leagues" (about nine miles, 14 km). His account continues: "At half past  we were close on with the body of land to which Captain Johnson had given the name of New South Greenland". Robert Johnson, a former captain of the Wasp, had made an exploratory voyage along the western coast of the Antarctic peninsula in 1821. Johnson had called it "New South Greenland". Morrell casually referred to Johnston's description. This indicates that Morrell assumed that the land he was seeing was in fact the east coast of the pensinsula. At the time he wrote this, his position was about 14 degrees east of that pensinsula. The geographical features of the pensinsula were not known at the time of Morrell's voyage.  Morrell describes seal hunting activities continuing along this coast during the remainder of the day. On the following morning  sealing resumed as the ship moved slowly southward, and continued until Morrell called a halt "because of shortage of water and season far advanced". Mountains of snow, he observed, could be seen about  further south.